Contact Info
You can reach me at (480) 390-7369 (Direct). You can also send email to PatrickHarvey@cox.net
West USA Realty
Kierland Corporate Center
7047 E Greenway Pkwy Suite 180
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Short Sales
What do you really need to know about short sales?
Here are some questions you might want to know about. Following this are some questions
you need to be sure your Realtor can answer! If they can't, then you need a different Realtor
to handle your short sale!
Can I just give my house back to the bank?
What if I can't make my payments? Can I just stop and give the keys to the bank?
It depends! In Arizona, if your loan was 'purchase money', meaning you didn't cash out and haven't
refinanced, then your loan is likely 'purchase money' (money used to buy the house) and the bank
does not have 'recourse', meaning they cannot come after you personally (although your credit
can get messed up!)
Different states have different laws. Check with your Real Estate professional in your state.
In Arizona, contact me, your
Arizona Real Estate Agent!
Why shouldn't I just give my house back?
The worst thing on your credit is a foreclosure.
The second worst thing is a
Deed in Lieu
of foreclosure. Third is a bankruptcy. In a
foreclosure, the bank spends lots of money,
hires lawyers, and it is very messy. They spend lots of time jumping through legal hoops and
ultimately wind up with either less money than they want, or a house they do not want. So they
hit your credit pretty hard. Recently FHA said that if you have a foreclosure that you can't
get a loan for at least 5 years. Even bankruptcy is better than that!
What can I do?
You can negotiate a short sale. Essentially, you want to sell your house -- get an offer on it,
and then negotiate with the bank to get them to accept the price and not want you to make up the
difference. It is called a short sale because the bank will be short a certain amount, because the
house is worth less than the loans on it. Before your a home goes into foreclosure (ie. the auction
is scheduled) it is a preforeclosure home.
These pre forclosure homes and
forclosure listings are
often good opportunities for investors.
Negotiating a short sale is not for the faint of heart; it takes quite a bit of work, and it helps
to already have established relationships with the bank. It takes 60-90 days to negotiate, and
one of the things you might need to do is to get the sale postponed. A good Realtor, one who has
done short sales, can help with this. In Arizona, I can help you with this.
When a property goes through foreclosure
and no one bids on it, it becomes an
REO home.
Questions for your Realtor -- about short sales
1. Can I negotiate my own short sale, ie. Can I list as a FSBO and deal with the lender myself?2. Do I have to be behind on my payments to qualify for a short sale?
3. What is the difference between a Deed of Trust and a mortgage? How do I know which one I have, and how does this affect me?
4. How will a short sale impact my credit? What can my Realtor do to minimize this impact? Once we start negotiating a short sale, can the bank simultaneously begin foreclosure proceedings, even if I am making payments on time?
5. Can I sell the house to a close friend or family member?
6. Why is it important to get an IRS form 1099 from the bank?
7. What is “full settlement language”?
8. How long does a Foreclosure stay on my credit?
9. Is there any way I can get any cash out of the sale?
10. What exactly is the whole process and timeline?
Drop me a line and I will send you the answers to these questions.
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