Don’t wait until it’s too late on a Short Sale

Recently, I’ve had several prospective clients contact me only days before their property is suppose to go to the foreclosure auction on the court steps. If find myself asking “why do these people wait until it is too late to contact me about listing their home for a short sale?” The answer is not a simple one. I think that there is a lot of psychology that goes into the realization that you are about to lose your home. Most people in financial distress usually put keeping their home as the last priority in making their way out of the financial issues. First on their list are their immediate needs, food, transportation, utilities and childcare. In Texas, we have an accelerated foreclosure process, the second fastest one in the US. Some of these prospective clients live in states such as California and Arizona where the foreclosure process can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. That is typically not the case in Texas where the entire process can take as few as 60 days. I think that by the time that some of these investors realize that the mortgage lender is not bluffing about their property going to foreclosure and that they are not going to be able to do the loan modification that they thought they would be able to do, it’s too late to save their property from foreclosure. Obviously, if there is a demonstrated financial distress and the homeowner qualifies to do an FHA short sale or a prospective buyer has put in an offer on potentially a conventional short sale, we may be able to get the home saved from foreclosure but with the last couple of calls this hasn’t been the case. Calling the Friday evening before the auction on the following Tuesday is too late. People have to realize that the mortgage banks short sale departments are not open on the weekend and the red tape that is involved with getting a foreclosure postponed can be daunting. Though not every short sale is successful, giving yourself the time necessary to work with the bank and the short sale realtor only improves your chances of successfully walking away from a property with the bank having taken the hit on the deficiency and you walking away with your sanity and peace of mind. To learn more about short sales, visit my short sale page at http://www.romeom.com/Austin_Short_Sale_Assistance/page_2182165.html .