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Short Sale Questions

by Atlanta Short Sale Agent on February 22, 2012

Short Sale Questions

Short Sale QuestionsThree years ago the most common short sale questions were “what is a short sale?” now I’d say we get many more questions regarding deficiency balances and taxes than we did in the past.  In our experience (over 100 short sale closings) I’d say that more home owners are researching short sales but they aren’t necessarily getting the full information.  For instance, if a person tells you they do short sales but only has 4 listings, then you might want to reconsider.  That’s why we always preach interview, interview and interview!

I thought I’d cover some of the “short version” answer to some  short sale questions basics here and then link you to the top questions that we have answered.  We’ll be updating the answers in the coming days so bookmark this site.  Pin it or save it.

 

Short Sale Questions [short answers]

  • What is a short sale? – It’s essentially where the bank lowers their payoff to allow you to sell your home at a price for less than you owe.
  • Do I owe taxes on the short sale? –  No  unless your an investor, then maybe.
  • What do I need to qualify for a short sale? – Not much, a general hardship or need to sell your home.
  • How long does the process take? – From start to finish, roughly 4 to 5 months, from offer to approval – around 60 days.  It typically takes us 30 to 45 days to get an offer and 60 days or less to get the bank to approve the short sale and another 30 days for the buyer to close.
  • Why should I short sale? – It’s clear now that a short sale is in the best interest of you and the bank.  Foreclosure hurts your credit worse, but more important it puts the control in the bank’s hands on when to come after you in the future.

and some other…

Short Sale Questions

 

 

Technorati Tags: Atlanta, Atlanta Real Estate, atlanta short sale listings, FAQ, Listing Information, listings, misconception, short sale, short sale agents in georgia, Short Sale Questions

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Update to HARP Refinance Loans!

by Atlanta Short Sale Agent on January 17, 2012

Update to HARP Refinance Loans!

Good news if you are in the group of folks that would like to keep their Atlanta home but really can’t afford it at the moment.  HARP Loans are better now and for several reasons.

First off, an Atlanta HARP loan (Home Affordability Refinance Plan) is simply put: Just refinancing your home.  The fun part comes in is that the same criteria being used for a loan except the most obvious one, the appraisal.  Since the market is understandably down your value is likely less than what your mortgage is, making a traditional refinance impossible and thus forcing you to contact an Atlanta Short Sale Specialist. A HARP loan is still just a refinance and it can keep you in your home only if you can afford the home.  There are certain income requirements.  It’s also only for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac folks.

What are the changes to HARP?

  • The new HARP replaces the obligatory appraisal with a computerized model of your home value, called an Automated Valuation Model (AVM). So, whether you owe 110% or 300% of the current value of your home, you will be able to refinance to a lower rate. Source: (Atlanta Harp Refinance)
  • Elimination of fees that some lenders were charging.
  • Elimination of risk based penalties for those wanting refinance to shorter terms.

You must be current to qualify, so if you are behind, please contact us to stop foreclosure!

 

Technorati Tags: Atlanta, Atlanta Real Estate, atlanta short sale, ga, georgia, HARP Loans, Listing Information, Loan Mod Alternatives, Loan Modificaiton, Refinance Plans

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Certified Short Sale Agent

December 14, 2011

Certified Short Sale Agent If you have been thinking about a short sale in Atlanta for any length of time you might have seen or heard about real estate agents who are supposedly certified short sale agents.  The truth is that you can get your certification to do short sales by simply putting your butt [...]

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Short Sale Process – Pricing Your Home

November 11, 2011

Short Sale Process – Pricing Your Home Hopefully you watched our other video about pricing or possibly read our post at Gahomedigest about How to Price Your Home, but those post and this one go hand and hand if you are a short sale seller.  This is all part of the short sale process – [...]

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Short Sale Interview Questions

October 25, 2011

Short Sale Interview Questions Statistics tell us that the average person that is selling is selling via short sale and that those people tend NOT to interview. This is a travesty and a shame and probably the single reason why so many people fail to sell their home via short sale. Short Sale Interview Questions [...]

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Short Sale Investor Offers

October 19, 2011

Short Sale Investor Offers Supposed Short Sale Investors make all kinds of offers on our short sale listings. In this video and post we’ll cover what a REAL offer is and how to weed out the true investors interested in taking advantage of the low prices in the market and the pretenders who watched a [...]

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Short Sale Taxes

September 26, 2011

Short Sale Taxes The question of taxes on a short sale come up almost as much as what is a short sale. Short Sale taxes are somewhat complex when compared to the average real estate transaction. First off, if the home is the seller’s primary residence and they sell it via short sale then they [...]

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How to Buy A Short Sale

September 15, 2011

How to Buy A Short Sale You might like the idea of buying a short sale but there are some things you need to know before you head out the door to get what you might think is the best deal in town (How to Buy A Short Sale). What is a Short Sale? So [...]

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Strategic Default

August 18, 2011

We get a lot of questions about strategic default. This is where a home owner who can afford the mortgage decides to walk away. This is not a home owner that does a short sale (unless they stop making payments). This video explains it in pretty good detail. The unfortunate truth is that the banks [...]

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Multiple Offers On A Short Sale

August 12, 2011

Multiple Offers On A Short Sale Real estate agents and home owners alike seem to not to know what to do with Multiple Offers On A Short Sale. In short (no pun intended here), the offer process works almost the same as a traditional transaction. A Binding Contract occurs when two parties sign and agree [...]

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