OBX Short Sales

Thinking of a Short Sale?
By Donna Young Whitley

In the current real estate market more and more homes are being offered as “potential short sales”. In a Short Sale, the lender closes the mortgage in return for a sales price lower than what the homeowner owes on the property. This difference might be forgiven by the lender. However, the difference is sometimes considered income for which the selling homeowner may be taxed. It's important to include a tax professional's advice in the deal. Under the new short sale incentive, lenders can receive a $1,000 payment from the U.S. Treasury for allowing the owner to sell the house for less than the amount owed on the mortgage and for accepting the proceeds as full repayment, rather than treat it as a short sale. This is an important consideration and will affect your credit rating in a different way. Lenders can also receive $1,000 for accepting a deed-in-lieu transaction, in which the deed is simply transferred to the lender instead of going through a costly foreclosure. Homeowners who agree to short sales or deed-in-lieu deals can receive up to $1,500 in closing costs. To help stop second mortgages from blocking the deal, the Treasury will pay second lien holders up to $1,000 to relinquish their claims in such transactions.

Short sales can take time to negotiate, especially if you have a second mortgage. Four to six months is not unusual. With the new incentives that lenders are receiving in addition to standardized forms being created, the process should become increasingly smoother and shorter.

If you are considering a short sale and have your home listed for sale it is necessary to notify your real estate agent. At OBB, we have the required forms ready and will help you through the process. Please contact the Outer Banks Blue Real Estate Team today for more details.

_________________________________________________

What are Outer Banks Real Estate customers saying about us?

"Catherine Stachan of Outer Banks Blue is our super star agent who was able to get our house to settlement during the hardest of times in the Outer Banks vacation market. She is a life saver. Catherine has a drive to do only the best for her clients.

Outer Banks Blue has the most amazing representatives from Tim, owner, to Debbie, new business development, to Catherine and her mom and business partner, Donna. "

~Elizabeth Lucchesi