I had just come back from lunch when Ashley (my secretary) handed me a note with the following phone message:
“Ricardo, need to sell house fast. Please call.”
The message was from a past client of mine whom I had Short Sold a home for over a year ago, and now apparently wanted to Short Sale another house.
THE PROBLEM: She had just received a Summary of Final Judgment from the courthouse and had 30 days (at the most) to sell her house, or it would be foreclosed.
Why is this a problem? Because you only have 30 days to 1) contact the homeowner’s bank, 2) negotiate a loan reduction, 3) advertise the home, 4) find a buyer, and 5) close the sale before the homeowner’s credit may be stained for up to 10 years with a foreclosure.
As you can already gather from the story I’m sharing, the only way to sell a home fast, and increasing your chances of avoiding foreclosure, is to Short Sell a home. Period. I’ll reveal precisely why in a moment.
MY CLIENT’S MISTAKE: She tried selling the home at market value.
And although there is certainly nothing wrong with trying to sell a home for a profit, I do suggest considering ALL of your options and deciding wisely on the one which serves you best – as soon as you can.
Here’s what I mean.
My client resisted Short Selling her home sooner despite plenty of warning shouts:
She had already received a Notice of Default.
She had lowered the price of her new home to compete with older, but similar sized homes in her neighborhood. She had invested some of her own money in advertisements. She even repainted the house hoping it would persuade buyers to call. Nothing.
After 14 months of having her home listed with two of the most reputable Real Estate companies in her city, she still had not received a purchase offer. Not a single one.
Both real estate companies had advertised her home in different newspapers and magazines.
They also had plastered the home on several websites throughout the internet. Nothing.
Post cards of all colors, sizes and shapes had been mailed promoting the house, with no inquiring calls ever coming in. Not one call.
The home had also been showcased in a monthly newsletter targeted to hundreds of ‘ready’ buyers (persons who, when registering to receive the newsletter, had said they needed to buy a home in the next one to two months).
In addition, one of the real estate companies exposed the home internationally by advertising it to investors in Europe.
What’s more, out of desperation, my client had called every “We Buy Houses” signs she saw on the streets – again, with no results. Most of them wanted to buy her house for a lot less than what she owed on her mortgage.
MY CLIENT’S SOLUTION (AND MAYBE YOURS, TOO) TO SELLING A HOME FAST AND AVOID FORECLOSURE: Implementing a Short Sale.
Here’s why.
In a Short Sale, the selling price of the home could be anywhere from 27% to 49% below what the house is worth.
This means if a house is worth $200,000; it can be sold for $146,000 if it’s at 27% below market value, or sold at a steal for $102,000 if it’s at 49% below market value.
How can house sell for so little? Because a mortgage reduction has been negotiated with the bank.
The home is sold. The client avoids having her credit ruined – and that’s ultimately what you want. In this type of market, playing the waiting game could kill your financial future.
If you’re considering short selling your house, may I suggest you do it sooner rather than later.
For more information on selling your home fast to avoid foreclosure… visit PalmBeachCountyForeclosureSolutions.com.
Ricardo Saldana is CEO & Founder of LossMitigationAssociation.com, the online leader for pre-foreclosure debt negotiations in Palm Beach County, Florida. Additionally he established PalmBeachCountyForeclosureSolutions.com, the #1 provider of fast Short Selling services that also caters exclusively to homeowners in Palm Beach County, Florida.
