Riverside and Corona Short Sales - Are You A Good Candidate for One?
In Riverside and Corona real estate and throughout the Inland Empire, the biggest share of homes for sale is short sales. In fact today, Feb 5, 2010, there are 466 short sales in Riverside. Compare that to 361 standard sales and 147 bank-owned houses.
A short sale is one option for a seller who needs to sell but owes more on their house than it can be sold for. You should know up front that there is no guarantee that your short sale (should you choose to do one) will go through and there is a guarantee that it will hurt your credit report. Get all the information you can on short sales – do your research – and find a good Realtor with experiece doing short sales. So, how do you know if you are a good candidate for a short sale? Do you have a legitimate hardship?
In order for the bank to consider accepting less than what is owed for a home, there must be a real reason why you cannot afford your home anymore or must sell it, i.e. job loss/layoff/relocation, death in the family, sudden and large medical bills, divorce. You will be required to provide to your lender pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, letters of hardship, etc. and they will actually carefully review and scrutinize these.
You will have to prove that there is a true financial hardship and that you are not one of the many homeowners who are simply tired of being upside down on your home. If you really are facing a hardship and have pursued other workout options with your lender to no avail, short selling your home may be the best way out of a very difficult situation.
In a short sale the forgiven portion of the debt owed could be considered as taxable income and you should seek the advice of a tax attorney, or certified public accountant, or your professional tax advisor so that you understand any possible ramifications of a short sale. According to FICO, the leading credit scoring system provider, there also may be some damage to your credit score. While a short sale aren’t as damaging as a foreclosure or bankruptcy, expect some negative impact.
Once you have explored all options, talked to your tax advisor and feel that you are ready to move forward with a short sale, call me and let’s get the short sale process moving. It is “short” in name only – shorts sales generally take a long time and patience on the part of the buyers and sellers is needed.
Posted at 02:21PM Feb 05, 2010 by The Pedersen Team in Real Estate | Comments[0]
