A lot has changed in the world of real estate over the last decade. As difficult as it may be to believe, the mortgage collapse was over ten years ago. A defining term that emerged shortly after the collapse was the “short sale”. There is a good chance that even if you were in real estate, you probably never heard of it before 2008. In the years following, short sales were the driving force behind most of all total real estate transactions. While the overall number has greatly declined in recent years, there are still a good number of short-sales transactions happening every day. But what is the short sale process and how does it work?

In this article, we’ll explore what a short sale is, how a short sale works, as well as the guidelines for completing a short sale. With the help of Trinidad Solutions, understanding the short sale process is simplified. 

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale, commonly also known as a pre-foreclosure sale, is a transaction within the real estate industry that refers to a sale that occurs when a financially struggling homeowner sells their property for less than the original amount due on the mortgage. Some homeowners will decide to complete a short sale of their home if they’re in fear of a pending foreclosure which could plummet their credit score. A short sale will still potentially lower a person’s credit, but not as much as a foreclosure would. 

The property buyer is a third-party entity and all proceeds from the sale go to the home’s original lender. The lender can then choose to either forgive the remaining balance or try to reach the selling homeowner for a deficiency judgment. A deficiency judgment requires the homeowner to settle the remaining balance. Some states will allow a short sale to forgive that difference. 

How Does a Short Sale Work?

Before the short sale process begins, the lender must sign off on the decision to move forward with a short sale. The lender is required to document the justifications for the short sale to ensure they don’t lose money as the lending party. Due to the need to carefully track the short sale, they can be a lengthy process that can take up to a year to complete. A short sale is not a guaranteed tactic for negating a mortgage’s balance once the short sale is completed. While the original lie instated by the lender might be waived, the promise to repay the other parts of the mortgage can still be enforced. Since borrowers interested in completing a short sale need lender approval, they will quickly learn what needs to be settled. 

Steps of the Short Sale Process

It is important to understand the short sale process before plunging into the steps required to successfully close the deal. Both as a homeowner and an investor, there is a lot of money and legal logistics involved in closing. Here are the five basic steps associated with almost every short sale transaction.

Homeowner Decisions

One of the common themes when talking to homeowners in default is the speed at which it happens. Sure, it takes several months to get into foreclosure, but it isn’t an overnight decision. There is typically a financial hardship, medical emergency, or sudden reduction in income that sets the short sale process off. A few weeks later the mortgage turns into a month and in the blink of an eye foreclosure papers are served. During the housing crisis, the glut of foreclosures caused lenders to come up with alternatives and many of those are still available. 

Between loan modification or principal reduction, most lenders would much rather you stay in your home than go into foreclosure. The most common foreclosure alternative is a short sale. This is essentially the lender agreeing to accept less than the principal amount owed. For a homeowner, the stain of a short sale is less than a foreclosure or bankruptcy. A lender can salvage something from a depreciating asset without having to add the property to their portfolio. Before anything can happen, the homeowner must accept their situation and decide to take some kind of action.

Reverse Application

From a lender’s perspective, the short sale process is very much the reverse of a traditional loan application. As much as a homeowner may want to short sale, the lender must approve it first. Once a homeowner decides on a short sale, they need to show the lender that they legitimately can no longer make the regular payments. The lender will ask for several items to justify a hardship including paystubs, tax returns, bank statements, and a hardship letter. 

The lender is not going to just let a homeowner walk away from their property because they want to. You don’t necessarily need to be three or four months late on the mortgage to get a short sale approved, but you do need to show that there is, or will be, a financial hardship. Once all items are submitted to the lender, they will either accept the short sale application or reject it. If accepted, they will move on to the property valuation part of the process.

Appraisal/BPO

As with any real estate transaction, the seller wants to walk away with as much money as possible. In a short sale, the lender is willing to sell the property at a discount, but they will not just give the property away. To determine fair market value, they will either employ a local real estate agent for a broker’s price opinion (BPO) or order an appraisal. Nothing will ever truly show a property’s value except listing it, but these methods will give the lender a good snapshot of what is going on. 

If the property is not currently listed, the lender will recommend a price and if there is an offer already in place, they will use this information to respond. As with any other listing, the more work needed and the weaker the market, the less leverage the seller has when completing a sale, regardless of whether it’s a short sale or not. 

Negotiation

Appraisals and BPOs are largely subjective. While these estimations of value are not exact, they do play a part in the lenders’ perception of the property’s value and ultimately the price the lender is willing to sell the property for during the short sale process. Once the lender receives the report, they calculate the bottom line at which they’re willing to sell the property and the negotiation begins. 

As a seller pursuing a short sale, you can put yourself in a good negotiating position by partnering with a cash buyer and short sale negotiator who has experience negotiating distressed transactions. They can take the lead on your behalf and leverage their strategies, tips, and tricks to put you in the best position possible. As far as the timeline is concerned, short sale negotiation times have been greatly reduced but can still take several months under the right circumstances. If you pursue a short sale you need to accept, and embrace, negotiation.

Closing

Once the terms of the purchase are accepted, the closing for the short sale process looks very much like any other transaction. What makes things a bit trickier is the fact that you may need to get the homeowner out of the property. However, there may be monetary incentives from the lender or binding terms of a contract that favor the buyer. At the closing table, the process is the same for a short sale, just a little more paperwork for the attorney. The bulk of the work is done once the lender accepts the asking price.

There are state-specific rules for foreclosure and short sale that should be reviewed before moving forward. Regardless of what side of the transaction you are on, a short sale can be a viable alternative in the right situation. Make sure to do the proper research and evaluate all options before turning to the short sale process. 

Simplify Selling Your Home with Trinidad! 

When in a tough financial bind, it’s important to know all your options. As a homeowner, a short sale might save you from a nasty foreclosure that could jeopardize your future living situation. Instead, enlist the help of experts to help you navigate the short sale process and lead you toward the right solution for you. Trinidad provides cash as-is offers for homeowners looking to expedite the real estate process.