Here is a step by step guide to selling your home if you are in foreclosure or if a short sale will be required:
- Review the "8 Ways to Avoid or Stop Foreclosure" Special Report. You can get it here.
- Determine what your house is worth. We find comparable sales in your area from the last six months. We determine the value that your home will sell for in today's market, less the repair costs and closing costs.
- Start initial paperwork. If you decide after reviewing the Special Report in Step #1 that selling is your best option, we start by signing an Exclusive Listing Agreement, Utility Form, Lead Disclosure Form (if built before 1978), Listing Form 1, and Seller Disclosure Form. (If you have any questions or concerns, we strongly recommend that you seek independent legal counsel.)
- If you have little or no equity, we may need to work with you and your bank to facilitate a "short sale" (a discounted payoff of your loan). You would need to provide necessary documentation such as your last two years of tax returns, your last two month's pay stubs, hardship letter, recent mortgage statement(s), financial statement, and your two most recent bank statements, all of which will be forwarded to the bank. We can assist you in preparing this information. You would also need to sign an Authorization form (authorizing us to work with the bank on your behalf), Short Sale Disclosure form, and Short Sale Services Agreement.
- We walk through your house with you and we do a repair estimate and take photos of your house. We determine if your house can be sold to a retail buyer (no repairs needed, or only minor repairs needed) or if it should be sold to a cash buyer. Depending on our assessments, we develop a clean-up and staging plan. We put a sign, flyers, and keybox on your home.
- We develop a marketing strategy for your home and aggressively market it. Our marketing strategies are explained on the Selling page.
- We may invite the top 3-8 producing buyer's agents in your price range to our open house during the week for a Broker's Open House.
- We price your house at the maximum market price (less repair costs) for 14 days on the MLS.
- If your house does not sell within the first 14 days, we set a price reduction strategy to reduce the price every 14 days (or more frequently if the foreclosure auction is near) and contact all of the buyers that had previously shown interest.
- We receive a buyer's offer and we require them to get pre-approved by a qualified, credible lender, including a Tri-merged credit report, last 4 pay stubs, last 2 months bank statements, and last two years tax returns.
- Broker's Price Opinion (BPO): If necessary, our attorney negotiates the short sale with the bank (with your consent and subject to other legal requirements) and we prepare an accurate BPO and repair estimate for the BPO agent. The short sale processing is paid for by the bank, not you.
- If your house does not sell within 30 days of the foreclosure auction, we solicit offers from qualified cash buyers, and our attorney negotiates the short sale with the bank.
- Contact Lexington Law or Veracity to review your credit repair options.
If you're behind on your mortgage payments or you've received a Notice of Trustee Sale from the bank, the clock is ticking. The sooner you act, the sooner you'll be able to get this behind you and move on with your life.
Contact us now for FREE, friendly, no obligation information. We'll explain everything in clear, easy to understand terms and help you get your house sold fast.
|