Ft. Lauderdale Sellers Finding Strength in Short Sales

The Ft. Lauderdale real estate market offers multiple properties that are listed as “short sale” properties.  Do not mistake short sale with quick or fast sale.  In very basic and simplistic terms – a short sale means that you (the seller) are asking the financial institution that owns your mortgage to take a hit and allow you to sell your Ft. Lauderdale real estate for less money then you currently own them for it.

This is the reason that the process can take so long.  Imagine going to someone that you owe $300,000 dollars to and asking them if they will forgive the debt completely if you pay them $200,000 dollars for their collateral.  The Ft. Lauderdale real estate lender wants its money – not your house, therefore in many instances the request will ultimately be approved.  However, it is a long and arduous process to get to the approval stage.  Once you get to the “pre-approval” – when the bank says “okay we’ll take less money” you still are not in the clear for a short sale. 

There are still hoops to jump through and negotiations to be entered into.  Make sure your Ft. Lauderdale real estate professional is a specialist in short-sales.  Not every Realtor understands this process nor are they all proficient in it.  Having someone on your side who knows this process inside and out will make a huge difference.  Your Ft. Lauderdale real estate professionals can be the difference between whether you end up owing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars or your house AFTER it sells or if you are out from under the loan free and clear.

Some well-meaning individuals may try and tell you that it is much less of a hassle and will be better for you in the long run if you just stop paying the mortgage, stop dealing with the Ft. Lauderdale real estate financial institution and just let the house go into foreclosure.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Walking away completely, if you are not in a position where you have no other choice – can easily lead you to the bankruptcy courts.  At least with a short-sale you have the opportunity to deal with the mortgage holder and make an equitable deal that both of you can live with.  Foreclosure does not give you that option.

Get educated on the short sale process.  The more you know the better chance you have of walking away cleanly and with as little negative impact as possible so that in the future – it will be much easier for you to once again enter the Ft. Lauderdale real estate market.