Short Sale or Foreclosure?

If you realize that foreclosure is imminent you should learn what options you have instead of just waiting for the grim reaper to take your home and putting you out in the street and ruining your credit at the same time.

Today, you do have options when it comes to foreclosure. You can negotiate with the lending company and try to keep your home or you can consider a short sale. Some people will tell you that a short sale will save your credit while others say that a short sale or a foreclosure will ruin your credit. If you look at what a short sale does, I do not see how it can ruin your credit. A short sale is an agreement between yourself and the lending company to take less that the amount owed to settle your loan. Of course, if you are behind in your mortgage payment, this will be on your credit report; however, this does not necessarily have to be considered a negative factor. It will only show that you were late on your mortgage, but once the loan is settled the lending company will have to report the loan paid. One negative late payment does not look as bad as a foreclosure.

A late payment of course looks bad on your credit report but if you have positive factors as well, the negative will not look as bad. One late payment will certainly not lower your rating to put you in the group of bad credit rating individuals.

With the list of pros and cons below, you should be able to make an educated decision on whether you wish to go a short sale route or a foreclosure route.

Pros of Short Sales

•    Preserve your self-respect that you sold your home
•    You will not suffer the embarrassment of foreclosure
•    No more mortgage payments
•    Under Fannie Mae guidelines you can purchase a new home in 2 years
•    If your credit report does not shoe a 60 day + late pay, you can purchase a home immediately under Fannie Mae guidelines

Cons of Short Sales

•    Waiting to hear from the lending company if they accept or deny your short sale can be annoying.
•    The lending company will need to see all your personal records including assets, liabilities, bank accounts, and tax returns to name a few to learn if you have a financial hardship.
•    Buyers will need to see you home, so you have to keep your home ready for potential buyers until an offer is received
•    The bank does not have to accept a short sale offer

Pros for Foreclosure

•    No more mortgage payments
•    The foreclosure process takes a long time, meaning the home is yours until the foreclosure is complete.
•    You do not have to keep your home available for potential buyers

Cons to Foreclosure

•    The lending company can post a Notice of Public Sale on the home
•    A foreclosure will remain on your credit report for 10 years.
•    You will not be able to purchase a home under Fannie Mae guidelines for 5 years.