What is a short sale?  Do you know the difference between a short sale and foreclosure?  Do you know what to do to avoid being foreclosed on?  Do you know what programs are available to possibly help you avoid a short sale/foreclosure?  Many homeowners are underwater, meaning they own more on their home than what it is worth, they can no longer afford their mortgage payments for a variety of reasons and do not know where to turn.  This video gives a quick overview of the process.  I am a CDPE and have helped many homeowners avoid foreclosure by selling their home in a short sale.  If you or someone you know is in need of help, take a look at the short sale tab on my website for more information or contact me for a free, no obligation, confidential consultation.

It seems that it is no longer just the homeowners that want to avoid foreclosure, but the banks are looking to avoid foreclosure as well!  A lot of this new strategy will depend on where you live and your individual circumstances but banks are mailing out offers to upside down homeowners offering up to $35,000 for them to short sell their home and move on.  We all know the banks have not been the quickest to understand the housing situation and most of their solutions are coming too late but this plan may be a good thing.  It seems that the banks are realizing that foreclosures are very expensive and extremely time consuming so by offering a decent settlement to the homeowner to get out quickly by doing a short sale they come out way ahead of going through the entire foreclosure process.  Most people that stop paying their mortgages also stop maintaining their homes so by the time the bank gets the home back, which can be a year or more, the value of the house is significantly decreased and the homes are in a state of disrepair.  There are plenty of pitfalls to this new plan such as second mortgages that won’t go along with the first lien and people that don’t qualify but for some it may be an ideal solution!  Information from CNN.