What Questions Should You Ask a Wellington FL Short Sale Agent?

It’s your privilege to choose the best Wellington Florida short sale agent you can find to represent your home. Don’t waste that chance as you usually only get one with your creditor or banker. To help you find the ideal real estate agent to work with when short selling your home, here are several questions you could ask a prospective agent.

How long have you been working with short sale clients in Florida?

There are two reasons for asking this question. Firstly, you want to make sure that the agent has more than enough experience working with short sales. It’s a whole new ballgame compared to the rest of transactions taking place in the real estate industry.
Secondly, you want to make sure that the agent’s experience has to do with short sales in Wellington FL or at least in the state you’re in and elsewhere. This is critical because laws on short sales tend to vary from one state to another. Short sale laws in Florida, for instance, are practically the opposite when compared to those regulating short sales in California.

How many short sales have you completed in the past three years?

A Wellington FL short sale agent with numerous short sales tucked under his or her belt is all well and good, but how many of those sales had actually taken place in the past three years? You need to make sure that your agent has been active in recent years. If not, your agent may not be in the best position to understand current trends in the local real estate market. Consequently, your agent may also not be aware of the latest modifications on laws governing short sales.

Has the Wellington FL short sale agent dealt with your creditor in the past?

Having an agent familiar with the ins and outs of working with your creditor would be a huge bonus so try to find one who comes to the negotiation table with this kind of experience. If your loan is serviced by your bank but is actually owned by another company, it would be helpful if your agent – or even you – have the necessary contacts to get in touch with the latter.

Advantages

There are certain advantages to enjoy in this kind of setup but it would ultimately depend on the short sale processing company that your agent is working with. If it is tried and experienced with short sales then you would have nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, your agent can concentrate on the marketing and selling side of things while the other party works behind the scenes, helping you arrange and gather the necessary documents and making your short sale package.

Disadvantages

There are, of course, drawbacks as well and these are more obvious on the onset compared to the potential benefits for this kind of setup.

Firstly, you could only be relying on the word of your Wellington Florida short sale agent that the short sale processing company he or she is working with is reliable and noted for its efficient and effective service. But how can you really be sure of that if you don’t know the company to begin with?

Secondly, it may not be possible for you to contact the short sale processing company directly. This means that every time you need to communicate something about short sales, it has to go through your agent first. This can cause significant delays if you are not careful.

What to Look for in Wellington Short Sale Agents

Ultimately, it would be better if you trust a short sale agent in Wellington FL that has experience both on the marketing and short selling side of things. This way, someone will be able to answer any and all kinds of questions you have about your home and the short sale process.

Consider compatibility as well. Simply put, do you get along with your agent? If not, then nothing good may happen between the two of you as you may both be wasting time arguing with each other every step of the way. It’s very important that you find a Wellington Florida short sale agent you won’t feel uncomfortable to talk to anytime and whose methods for short sales you heartily approve of.

 
If, however, you are only in the brink of foreclosure then such financial aid packages are not yours to enjoy. There is still a good chance that your bank or creditor would seize your property and foreclose it if you don’t take proper precautionary measures ahead of time. One such measure would be to approach a Florida short sale specialist and get him or her to help you.

Are Short Sales the Ultimate Solution?

Unfortunately, not all homeowners would be considered eligible for short sales. The conditions vary from one creditor to another. Ultimately, however, you or – more specifically – your Florida short sale specialist would have to prove that it’s to everyone’s benefit that you are allowed to short sell your home as soon as possible.

What Do Short Sales Entail?

Let’s say that your house in Florida may be sold today at $600,000. Unfortunately, your home used to be worth $800,000 and in fact you have mortgaged it to the hilt and thus owe the bank $800,000. Obviously, it would be pretty impossible for you to sell your home at its original price. But if you sell your home based on its current market value, then that would mean losing about $200,000 in the process.

$800,000 Original value of your home or the amount of your mortgage balance
$600,000 Present market value of your home
$200,000 Negative balance if you sell your home at its present market value

This won’t be that big a problem if you fully own your property and it’s not encumbered in any way. Although you are losing $200,000 technically, it’s not something that would significantly hurt your finances.
But it’s different if you owe $800,000 on your home and are no longer able to keep up with mortgage payments. To prevent foreclosure and an unwanted blemish on your credit record, you would need to sell the home. But even if you do sell it, you would still be left with a $200,000 debt you can’t pay.

Now, this is the part where a Florida short sale specialist can step in and help you out.

A short sale specialist would do the following to ease your burden:

1. Prepare a short sale package to convince your creditor about the rightness of short selling your home
2. Find a buyer for your short sale home
3. Obtain the best possible post-short-sale condition for the remaining $200,000 balance of your mortgage
4. Expedite the process for selling your home to prevent foreclosure

Unsecured Promissory Note

At the very least, your realtor should be able to ensure that you are only signing an unsecured promissory note with regard to your remaining debt.

Let’s say that your home, which you still owe $700,000 on, is now only worth $440,000. As such, when your creditor approves of short selling your home you would still end up with a $260,000 loan balance. If your creditor insists that you still pay this back on some indefinite or definite date, your agent should ascertain that your agreement to pay the debt would only be guaranteed with an unsecured promissory note.

This way, if you lack the necessary amount in the future to pay your remaining debt, your creditor would not be able to confiscate any of your properties right away as alternative payment.

Installment

Some Florida short sale specialists don’t stop once they’ve gotten their clients an unsecured promissory note. They also make sure that their clients have all the advantages needed to get them back in the right financial footing and thus be able to pay their existing balance. As such, many agents work hard to convince creditors to accept payment by installment instead of asking for a lump sum.

Discounted or Reduced Payment

In some cases, Florida short sale specialists convince agents to settle for a smaller amount as payment of the remaining debt. In a way, it’s like going through a short sale all over again but this time you are short selling your loan and not your home.

Debt forgiveness

This, of course, is the best thing that Florida short sale specialists can do with their clients. Going back to our previous example, you would be left with a debt of $260,000 after short selling your property. If your agent is able to convince your creditor to waive the rest of your debt then you would no longer have to pay the remaining $260,000. The short sale of your property alone is already considered complete and full payment of your mortgage.

Whichever scenario you end up with, you can be sure that hiring the best Florida short sale specialists would mean your credit record will remain safe and protected from any unwanted mention of foreclosure.

This property is located in the Emerald Forest subdivision in Wellington Florida. This home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with a private pool and about 1,370 square feet under air and 1,808 total square feet.

This short sale was sold for $135,777 which was a pre-approved price from the short sale lender.

This property sold for ALL CASH. The buyers paid cash for this property.

In fact, the last three closings we had were ALL CASH closings on the buyers sides.

This Wellington short sale was our listing and from the date of the listing to the date of sitting at the closing table it was 215 days.

The sellers are so happy with Nestor Gasset and all he did to get this deal closed.

For another short sale closed in Wellington you can click here. 

Contact Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset at 561-753-035 to go over your short sale options.

Ownership

First of all, you need to prove that you are the legal owner of the property that you wish to short sell. This means presenting the deed of ownership of the house and lot. Never sign over your deed to anyone other than at the closing of your short sale by a reputable title company.

Authorization

You also have to prove to the creditor that he or she is talking to a representative you have officially authorized to short sell your property. Your short sale lender will not under any circumstances talk to anyone on your behalf without a written authorization. This is the first document we need signed by you to. We then send that authorization letter to your lender and then they will speak with us.

Financial Hardship

Even if it’s a strategic short sale you are after, it still wouldn’t hurt to write a short sale qualification letter. Also known as a hardship letter, this is the part where you let your creditor know your reasons for wanting a short sale. Ultimately, it depends on the bank or creditor that owns your note as to whether or not you’re required to write this letter.
If you are, you need to prove that even though you are not presently suffering from financial difficulties you are already in the brink of doing so if nothing changes about your situation.

Income

Naturally, your creditor would want proof about your income. If you have your own company or business, your short sale package should include its financial statements. Some agents and creditors prefer financial statements of the past three years, but it really depends on the creditor’s requirements. Financial documents typically included are the profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and perhaps the cash flow statement of your business.

If you are employed then you may need to present your pay slip and income tax return.
If you have additional sources of income, documents pertaining to those should also be presented. Last but not the least, you may also be asked to include your latest bank statement in your short sale package.

Offers and Confirmations for Purchase

It would always help if you have a confirmed buyer for the house. If so, your short sale package should include a written confirmation from the buyer about his or her desire to buy your property. Some Wellington short sale agents may also ask the buyer to write a letter stressing their urgent desire to move in to their future home – if the purchase pushes through, that is. And with a beautifully prepared short sale package, there’s a good chance that everyone – you, the homebuyer, and creditor – would get what they want.

Think of it as “coming clean”.

Everyone makes mistakes. Deliberate or not, foolish or not, you can’t keep blaming yourself for your financial hardship. When writing a short sale qualification letter, it’s essential that you forget about your pride and just come clean about your financial situation at present.

Think of it as a report.

Reports are different from, shall we say, essays in the sense that creative liberties are more abundantly offered with the latter. A short sale hardship letter is not an essay. You do not have the luxury of time to wax poetic about the difficulties you are facing. Rather describing your financial struggles with qualitative words, you need to focus on cold hard facts and figures. If they come with computations, so much the better! Stick to anything that’s measurable.

Don’t, for instance, be content with merely stating that you are on the brink of poverty. Rather, you could say that you are earning $XXXX, which is XX% below the average income in your area.

Think of it as a story.

Although the short sale qualification letter should have a factual foundation and can serve as a paragraph-formatted report of your financial situation, your letter should also read as a story. No creditor would feel the need to approve of your short sale application without any justifiable reason.

So you’re earning a below-average salary. Why is this so? Is it your fault? Are other extenuating factors to blame? You need to make them see the bigger picture and understand what contributed to your current situation.
A good short sale qualification letter is one that has a past, present, and future. With regard to the past, your letter should summarize the various factors and events that led to your current state. Describe your struggles at present and explain how both the past and present are likely to paint a horrible picture of your future if you don’t short sell your home.

Think of it as an appeal.

Lastly, remember that creditors don’t owe you anything. It is not your right or privilege to ask for a short sale. You are in their mercy – and not the other way around. As such, you need to take very care when choosing the right tone for your short sale qualification letter. It must sound like an appeal and not a demand.

We just closed on one of our Wellington short sale listings- at 3166 Hartridge in Olympia subdivision in Wellington Florida. The listing price was $277,777. 

Richard Zaretsky attorney at law in West Palm Beach Florida handled the short sale negotiations on this listing. You may know Richard Zaretsky as he has many featured posts on ActiveRain. 

We listed this short sale in September 2011 and closed last week in April 2012. It took about 7 months to close on this short sale. 

The sellers were able to get a waiver of deficiency. 

Sellers were current on their mortgage. 

The sales price was $270,000. 

You can do a short sale being current on your mortgage! Call Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset at 561-753-0135  for a confidential short sale interview to go over your foreclosure options and short sale options. 

 
A dependable Florida short sale Realtor knows all about the rights which homeowners and lenders are entitled to.

 
This does not mean you have to sign up with a Realtor with a law degree, though. Sometimes, that can only serve to muddy the waters as your Realtor could find himself having a conflict of interest being a lawyer as well. Rather, you just have to make sure your Realtor does his or her best to stay updated about all laws relevant to homeowners and their creditors.

 
A dependable Florida short sale Realtor won’t give up at the first sign of trouble.

 
“When the going gets tough, the tough gets tougher.” That’s certainly an apt motto for short sale agents. Short sales are anything but short, and you can easily find yourself abandoned by your agent if he or she does not have the necessary patience to see things till the very end.
Short sales are like a waiting game, and those who have more patience always win the game. A patient and diligent Realtor would regularly call your lender, make appointments, and send follow-up letters until your short sale application is processed and – hopefully – approved.

 
A dependable Florida short sale Realtor will stand up for your rights.

 
Many real estate agents don’t bother standing up for their client’s rights if they feel that doing so is more trouble than it’s worth. Naturally, a dependable short sale Realtor feels differently about such things. Dependable agents take their jobs seriously, and they also strongly value the trust their clients place in them. If they feel that a lender is abusing his rights against a client homeowner, a dependable short sale Realtor would do everything legally possible to put things to right.

 
A dependable Florida short sale Realtor knows when to say “I don’t know”.

 
Last but most importantly of all, dependable real estate agents are not know-it-alls. They know that pretending knowledge won’t help their clients’ case, but they’re also aware that ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for failing their clients. If, for instance, there are certain issues that your lender has brought up which are rather technical and legal in nature, a good agent would refer you to a trustworthy lawyer instead of giving baseless advice.

When choosing which agent to work with for short selling your home in Wellington, FL it is very important that you find someone who is absolutely honest with you and will not seek to convince you with exaggerated claims or, worse, false or misleading information about short sales.

LIE #1: NO CASH CONTRIBUTION FROM THE HOMEOWNER

Be very wary of agents who tell you that they can short sell your home without any contribution on your part. Even if they have found a willing buyer for a more than reasonable price for your home, it’s still ultimately the lender’s call as to whether that price is sufficient or not.

Your creditor or lender is also the only one who can determine whether you should make a cash contribution or not upon the sale of your home.

LIE #2: NO LARGE CASH CONTRIBUTION FROM THE HOMEOWNER

Some agents play it a little bit safer by saying that Wellington Florida short sales typically involve only a small amount of cash contribution. While it’s not as worse a lie as the first one, it’s still an absolute lie.

Lenders don’t just have a say as to whether homeowners would be required to contribute cash or not when their homes are sold through short sales. Lenders naturally have the power as well to determine how much the homeowner would have to contribute.

Even if your agent argues by pointing how the Wellington FL market is currently doing very well and should thus lead to an increase of your property’s value, it’s still the lender’s call. If he wants you to pay more than what other lenders are asking from other homeowners, he’s well within his rights to do so. It’s just your bad luck to have an unreasonable lender.

LIE #3: NO PROMISSORY NOTES

Other agents may tell you that successful Wellington Florida short sales will mean full payment of your mortgage. While that’s true, these agents may also neglect to inform you that your lender would also require you to sign a promissory note afterwards. Promissory notes often but not always require you to pay the remaining balance over a specified period of time without interest.

LIE #4: FULL PAYMENT NOTED

Again, this is not always the case. Lenders who agree to Wellington short sales may, however, insist that it is noted in public records that a full payment had not been made.