Short Sales an Increasingly Attractive Alternative to Foreclosure
One of the tricks at the disposal of mortgage lenders to forestall foreclosure in soft real estate markets is a short sale. Once a homeowner with a high mortgage balance relative to the home's market value has gotten behind in his monthly payments, the lender must decide how to handle the borrower's default. The lender can either pursue foreclosure, or can try to convince the homeowner to sell the home to pay off the remaining loan balance.
If the owner is willing to sell, chances are the lender will have to settle for a lot less than a full pay-off of the remaining mortgage loan balance. Many lenders today prefer to give the owner a chance to list and sell a home at below market price before the foreclosure auction takes place. A sale at a price that doesn't produce enough to pay off the mortgage loan in full is called a short sale.
Yes, a lot more often than you would think lenders are willing to give a green light to sales at prices that do not produce enough cash to satisfy the full mortgage balance owed to the lender. This type of lender-approved sale of homes in foreclosure is known as a short sale. This is a process by which lenders mitigate or minimize their losses due to foreclosures.
Why would a lender allow a short sale if it will result in monetary loss for the lender? The lender is trying to lose less than it otherwise would if the home were to go through the actual foreclosure process, since foreclosure itself is extremely expensive for the lender. Foreclosure involves legal fees, loss of interest income, the cost of evicting the homeowner, back property tax balances, plus insurance and real estate commissions. Short sale results in the lender losing less money than it typically would with a lengthy and costly foreclosure proceeding.
Given the high costs of a foreclosure, many lenders actually net more money through short sales than through foreclosing on and reselling properties. In the current foreclosure crisis, lenders have far more REO (repossessed homes) in inventory than they can reasonably handle. This costs lenders time and money while these non-performing assets continue to sit on the books. But the costs of the foreclosure process itself aren't the only concern for lenders.
They also face major scrutiny from local municipalities to maintain their repossessed empty houses in good condition in order to keep drug related activities away, as well as reduce the vandalism. Some local government go as far as filing lawsuits against lenders who have a high number of REO properties in the area causing further expenses and losses. Under these circumstances a quick short sale settlement may look likeas a desirable alternative to foreclosure.
Many lenders slash prices deeply in an attempt to get rid of their crowded REO inventory, and lenders now realize just how much of a financial burden a large inventory of REO homes can be. Because of this, lenders are very motivated to avoid foreclosing on homes in the first place. Short sales have become so common that many lenders now have specialized staff on hand whose primary job is to handle short sale offers submitted on properties in foreclosure. Lenders are pulling out all the stops to avoid foreclosing on properties that add to their growing inventory of foreclosure homes with high ownership costs and associated expenses.
For those who buy homes through a short sale process, there is a golden opportunity to buy a home at a deep discount prior to the public foreclosure auction. Consider though that a short sale can only take place with lender approval. For investors, short sales present an opportunity to buy and resell a property at a significant profit, or to convert the property to a rental for ongoing cash flow.
But why would a homeowner agree to a short sale? With so many homeowners out of work and unable to pay their mortgages, more and more homeowners are facing the real possibility of foreclosure.
For homeowners with few resources to make often high payments on an over-financed home, a short sale is sometimes the only way to easily exit the situation. For investors, a short sale can be a path to a profitable return on the sale of a foreclosure home. - 16931
If the owner is willing to sell, chances are the lender will have to settle for a lot less than a full pay-off of the remaining mortgage loan balance. Many lenders today prefer to give the owner a chance to list and sell a home at below market price before the foreclosure auction takes place. A sale at a price that doesn't produce enough to pay off the mortgage loan in full is called a short sale.
Yes, a lot more often than you would think lenders are willing to give a green light to sales at prices that do not produce enough cash to satisfy the full mortgage balance owed to the lender. This type of lender-approved sale of homes in foreclosure is known as a short sale. This is a process by which lenders mitigate or minimize their losses due to foreclosures.
Why would a lender allow a short sale if it will result in monetary loss for the lender? The lender is trying to lose less than it otherwise would if the home were to go through the actual foreclosure process, since foreclosure itself is extremely expensive for the lender. Foreclosure involves legal fees, loss of interest income, the cost of evicting the homeowner, back property tax balances, plus insurance and real estate commissions. Short sale results in the lender losing less money than it typically would with a lengthy and costly foreclosure proceeding.
Given the high costs of a foreclosure, many lenders actually net more money through short sales than through foreclosing on and reselling properties. In the current foreclosure crisis, lenders have far more REO (repossessed homes) in inventory than they can reasonably handle. This costs lenders time and money while these non-performing assets continue to sit on the books. But the costs of the foreclosure process itself aren't the only concern for lenders.
They also face major scrutiny from local municipalities to maintain their repossessed empty houses in good condition in order to keep drug related activities away, as well as reduce the vandalism. Some local government go as far as filing lawsuits against lenders who have a high number of REO properties in the area causing further expenses and losses. Under these circumstances a quick short sale settlement may look likeas a desirable alternative to foreclosure.
Many lenders slash prices deeply in an attempt to get rid of their crowded REO inventory, and lenders now realize just how much of a financial burden a large inventory of REO homes can be. Because of this, lenders are very motivated to avoid foreclosing on homes in the first place. Short sales have become so common that many lenders now have specialized staff on hand whose primary job is to handle short sale offers submitted on properties in foreclosure. Lenders are pulling out all the stops to avoid foreclosing on properties that add to their growing inventory of foreclosure homes with high ownership costs and associated expenses.
For those who buy homes through a short sale process, there is a golden opportunity to buy a home at a deep discount prior to the public foreclosure auction. Consider though that a short sale can only take place with lender approval. For investors, short sales present an opportunity to buy and resell a property at a significant profit, or to convert the property to a rental for ongoing cash flow.
But why would a homeowner agree to a short sale? With so many homeowners out of work and unable to pay their mortgages, more and more homeowners are facing the real possibility of foreclosure.
For homeowners with few resources to make often high payments on an over-financed home, a short sale is sometimes the only way to easily exit the situation. For investors, a short sale can be a path to a profitable return on the sale of a foreclosure home. - 16931
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Yes, you can find short sale opportunities and start submitting multiple short sales packages to banks and negotiating dramatic discounts
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