When to Start Short Sale

A popular question in the short sale world:   I need to short sale.  When do I start the process?

Quick Answer:  Sooner the better.

We, the professional real estate community, have done a horrible job of educating the general public about the short sale process.  Many of the clients I have, have never heard of a short sale until their friend or family member tip them off.   And that's horrible - and I'll take part of the blame for that.

A short sale should be started the second you realize you can no longer continue making payments.  You can start the process at any point up until the day of the Foreclosure auction.  Obviously, if you intend to have a successful short sale, you should start well before the house is being auctioned off on the court house steps.

Many home owners I speak with are trying to time things perfectly.  I often hear, "we want to sell this, buy down the street, and move in over the weekend".  That's a perfect world, and unfortunately short sales are far from perfect.

My advice on timing, and I give this to every short sale listing:  Forget about the way you want the timing to work out.  It won't work that way....it almost never does.  Instead of trying to perfectly time everything, I'd advise you to start the short sale process sooner than later and start planning your next move.