Short Sales – Preserving Home Ownership and Your Credit
October 26th, 2008 Posted in Real Estate 
For those of you unable to make your house payments every month and considering a short sale or foreclosure, whatever you do, please consult a lawyer or your CPA first to determine whether you are a good candidate for a short sale and what your tax and credit ramifications will be short sale versus foreclosure.
There are other possible ways of avoiding a short sale or foreclosure, and those should be examined, too. These may include a loan modification with your lender, a revised repayment schedule or refinancing your loan.
In order to proceed with a short sale, you must document with the lender that you are insolvent. You will have to provide a multitude of documents including: W-2′s, 2 years taxes, a letter explaining employment or lack thereof, bank statements and a hardship letter. In general, a short sale will produce less damage to your credit report than a foreclosure, so it is definitely worth considering.
The document reproduced below provides many websites through FreddieMac that may help you in making your decision on which way to turn. This document was provided to me through a short sale class I attended recently; one of many I have attended in the last year.
After meeting with the appropriate professionals, if you should decide to short sale your home, I would be happy to help you with that process. Please don’t bury your head in the sand… That will definitely lead to foreclosure.
Remember, you are not the only one going through these unpleasant times, and all of the professionals understand that you entered into home ownership fully expecting to be able to make the payments. No one thinks you are a bad person because you are struggling in this economy. Remember, there is light at the end of the tunnel with the proper professional help.
If you have any real estate questions or general questions about short sales, Paso Robles or San Luis Obispo North County, please contact me via email, call me at (805) 235-0234 or visit my website for more information.
It starts with a dream…
FreddieMac Website Reference Guide
THE AD COUNCIL RESOURCES:
HUD RESOURCES:
NATIONAL FORECLOSURE AVOIDANCE INITIATIVE:
Neighbor-Works(R):
FreddieMac RESOURCES:
- Avoiding Foreclosure For Borrowers
- Avoiding Foreclosure Promotional Materials
- Anti-Predatory Lending Campaign
- Responsible Servicing Guidelines
- CreditSmart(R) Curriculum
- FreddieMac Role State-By-State
- The Learning Center For Community Outreach
- Community Programs
- Protecting Consumers
IF YOU SUSPECT MORTGAGE FRAUD: Call 1-800-4FRAUD8
Tags: foreclosure, paso robles, short sale, short sales, taxes