Thursday, January 13, 2011

What Exactly is a Short Sale and How to Get One

By Lee Cole


Today might be one of the better times to buy real estate property since the Great Depression. You'll find loads of houses on the market, and because of the recession and the foreclosure crisis, the costs are lower than they have been in decades. Experts believe it will take a good maybe five or ten years before the market fully recovers. If you buy now, you're going to be buying cheap. Hold on to your house for 5 to 10 years, and you're will make a killing. The only question for you is how to get on this gravy train.

One of the best methods for buying real estate cheap is to carry out what's called a "short sale". A short sale is where the lender reduces the pay off on a house's mortgage so that a buyer can acquire it. You won't have the capacity to do a short sale unless the buyer you're buying from is behind on their payments. Unfortunately, you'll find lots of sellers who are.

To carry out a short sale, you basically negotiate with the bank and come up with a reduced pay-off for the mortgage. This whole process helps save the seller's credit, as they are not actually foreclosed on. It can help save the bank money, too, because they do not have to repossess the place. Naturally, it does a lot of good for you.

You normally have to get information from the seller about their budget and give this to the bank. There is a fair amount of paperwork involved with short sales, and sometimes it's much easier to get a realty agent who's knowledgeable about the process to manage it for you.

You'll find short sales by contacting banks. But the fastest way to find them is to contact Realtors who work in the areas you're interested in. Usually when a seller is behind on his or her mortgage, they opt to sell their residence. If they list with a knowledgeable properties agent, the agent will suggest a short sale and contact their bank to get the process rolling.

Short sales are a good way for you to take advantage of a great market! You help yourself, the seller, and also the bank. It's really a win-win-win scenario.




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