One of the biggest
complaints people have about short sales is how long they take to
complete. Here are 4 specific tips proven to speed up the short sale
process:
Tip #1: Continue to
pay all property-related expenses that are not wrapped into your regular
mortgage payment--expenses like HOA fees or condo fees as well as water, sewer
or other utility bills (basically any expense that is not included in your
regular mortgage payment). In most cases, you have to be behind on
your mortgage payments before your lender will consider discounting your
mortgage loan. Unfortunately, when people stop paying their
mortgage, they often stop paying these other property-related expenses—BIG
MISTAKE! When you don't pay these expenses, they will come back to
haunt you by becoming liens against your property making it more difficult and
time consuming to close your short sale transaction.
Tip #2 is to terminate
any rental leases you have on property that you are trying to short sell. If
you can’t terminate the lease, then don’t renew it when it expires. Here’s
why--in order to get a lender to approve your short sale application, you
normally have to prove that you have a financial hardship. When your
tenants move out, the loss of rental income will help prove your financial
hardship to your lender.
Tip #3: Make it easy
for everyone who needs access to your property to get in. Realtors,
appraisers, home inspectors and obviously interested buyers need to get into
your property. If any of these people can’t get in or they are
delayed or forced to reschedule their appointments, you are unnecessarily
adding more time to the entire process.
Tip #4: Gather and
submit ALL the current documentation your lender requests from you. I
know this may seem like a no-brainer, but I can tell you from many years of
experience that banks generally will not even consider your short sale
application if it’s incomplete in any way. For example, if your bank
requires 10 things and you only provide 9, it’s as if you haven’t provided
anything at all. Incomplete documentation is the most common way
property owners destroy their chances of getting a bank approval.
In
general, the homeowner/seller is the key to speeding up the short sale
process. By removing self-imposed roadblocks, you reduce delays so
that you can close faster.
Gerald Lucas, 'The Short Sale Authority' http://performanceshortsale.com/ has successfully negotiated hundreds of short sales over the past decade he has spent in the real estate business. He shares his extensive experience as a real estate investor, coach, college professor and lecturer. Mr. Lucas is Managing Director of Performance Property, LLC, a short sale negotiation company based in Jersey City, NJ http://www.performancepropertyllc.com/ Mr. Lucas holds an undergraduate business degree from Howard University as well as an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management.
