It seems that everyone knows someone who is facing losing their home to foreclosure. It can also be said that if you know a homeowner in foreclosure, the chances are their lender has told them that a small sale as the strategy to avoid losing the home to foreclosure.
While small sales can help homeowners avoid losing their home to foreclosure, it is a very complicated process and one that should not be attempted by the inexperienced.
If you are a homeowner who is facing foreclosure, a small sale may might be for you. But you will need to be open, honest diligent, cooperative and you must comprehend that the following 5 tips are vital to your small sale being approved by the bank:
1. While you may be able in some occasions to convince a bank to work with you, the prudent homeowner knows that they are not an expert and should let the expert in the market handle the small sale. Whether an experienced real estate agent, title processor or attorney, make sure the person facilitating your small sale really is knowledgeable in regards to the small sale process.
2. Make sure you stay actively aware and you work with the person handling your small sale with the timely submission of forms and other documents as may be required by the lender. This includes that you, not your agent or advisor, but YOU write a clear and compelling Hardship Letter. Having someone else write your hardship letter may be the reason that your small sale package will be turned down.
3. Make sure you know what you are getting into. The lender is going to demand a comprehensive small sale package and that will include a full financial package complete with bank accounts, tax returns and more. Your omission to give the bank this information most likely will get your small sale request turned down.
4. The bank made a loan to you and they have the right to collect. You have the responsibility to tell your assets and to liquidate them to reduce what you owe them. You cant expect to take less while you are cruising around town in your Porsche. Thats just not right. You must be ready to demonstrate a reason you are unable to pay them back (i.e. show a hardship).
5. Make sure you dont dilly dally until its too late before you request a small sale. Most homeowners dont do anything or simply wait to long to act. No real estate agent or attorney is a magician. They need time to make the small sale work. If you want to save yourself from enduring a foreclosure on your home then you must act in timely fashion.
Small sales can take as long as 6 months to get accepted. These are just 5 simple strategies you can implement to give your small sale request the best chance for approval. This is not a simple procedure for the bank or homeowner and your continued cooperation can mean the difference between a successful small sale or your home being auctioned off.
Whatever you do, dont sit by and do nothing. If you want to try to initiate a small sale on your own, some banks are now letting homeowners do just that. If you want to find out more information about how small sales should be correctly completed please visit our small sale information resource center for videos and tips as to how to correctly complete a small sale.
By learning about the small sale process you will be better educated to talk about things with your lender and you’ll be more prepared to spot inadequacies and mistakes in the process with any real estate agent that you may choose to hire to represent you.
If you’re a Realtor reading this, you too may want to check out our small sale information. It will help you learn how to successfully do small sales and generate higher commissions.