Updated for 2014 - We stay current here!
Deciding to Short Sale your home is a tough decision, however it is often the smartest decision.
Walking away from a home and not working with the bank will have much worse consequences! Many people don't know that in Florida, the banks have the right to collect the deficiency in a Foreclosure up to 5 years after they resell the property!
The Deficiency in a Foreclosure: the amount you owed, plus fees, late fees, attorney fees, MINUS the amount the home sells for minus realtor commissions minus closing fees, etc. The deficiency could be very large and most often much larger than that in a Short Sale! Take into account that foreclosures sell for 30% less than a short sale, and you've got yourself a nasty deficiency balance for a debt collector to come knocking on your door with a judgement lawsuit. Ouch!
In a Short Sale, the deficiency is less, and is often agreed to be non-collectible by your bank.....if you have the right REALTOR and negotiators on your side. Less potential deficiency and more chance the bank will waive their right to collect. This is good for you!
Another huge benefit of a Short Sale is the credit hit. The credit hit happens, there is no way around this, but it is much more gentle than that of a Foreclosure. In the future, when you go to purchase another house, a Short Sale will most likely be seen as you worked with the bank to dissolve your real estate problem. A Foreclosure will be seen as you walking away from the real estate. Which do you think is most attractive for your new mortgage company?
Other important credit issues with a Short Sale: If you are paying all your other bills on time, your credit bounces back after a short sale very quickly. Some have said within 6 months they are back to near their previously high credit score. Also, the faster you get the short sale completed the better, as you need your "restart date".
Choosing a Jacksonville Short Sale REALTOR
Choose carefully! So many agents are "experts" but have never actually completed a Short Sale. If you want a short list of agents that we recommend, after ourselves of course, we would be happy to email you a short list.
Top 6 reasons to Choose the Brad Officer real estate team to Short Sale your house in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra:
- First Short Sale completed in 2007! WAY before most agents had ever heard of a Short Sale.
- Professional Real Estate Agents have used Brad to Short Sale their personal homes. This has happened not once, twice, but 3 times! .....update: now 7 times in total!!!!
- Brad is on an elite list of only 9 agents that Wells Fargo refers home owners to. This is Big. Brad is also part of the Bank of America short sale cooperative program.....same deal as Wells Fargo. Bank of America, Citi, Chase, Wells Fargo, and just about all the other banks, mortgage servicing companies, and local credit unions have worked with our team on Short Sales. And we have the contacts at those banks to make sure we get the service to get the job done!
- Industry Resource: Brad has been asked to sit on many discussion panels to answer questions about Short Sales from other agents, attorneys, title companies, brokers, etc.
- SUCCESS! We get our deals done! Much more often than not, we have success completing our Short Sales. Actually we sit at about 90%+ for a successful short sale.
- Attorney Representation: We require that you use an attorney to represent you in the Short Sale. The attorneys we refer you to are the main Jacksonville Short Sale attorneys and really know their stuff. You are in the best hands with their team. Ultimately though, you have the right to choose any Short Sale Attorney, just be very sure they know what they are doing. Your fee for using an attorney....typically less than 1 months mortgage payment.
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