rights and negotiate on your behalf with lenders, their attorneys or other parties. A competent real estate professional also can provide invaluable assistance with your short sale. Please note: Merely applying for a short sale won’t necessarily prevent the lender from starting a foreclosure action — or interrupt a foreclosure process that’s already begun. In some instances, the lender may obtain a judgment for foreclosure before granting (or denying) your request for a short sale! If the lender has already begun a foreclosure action, you should strongly consider hiring an attorney to work with you throughout the short sale process. The lender doesn’t want to lose time foreclosing if the short sale falls through. This further emphasizes the need to move as promptly as possible in every step of your short sale application and process.
GETTING APPROVED FOR A SHORT SALE
Usually, lenders are unwilling to consider a short sale until you have an accepted purchase offer — or a fully executed sale contract — in hand. It’s much easier to get a lender’s approval if you can demonstrate that a buyer is already interested. From there, requirements vary by lender, but in most instances, the bank or other lending institution will take two primary factors into account when deciding whether to approve your short sale application. One is that you, the borrower, are experiencing a hardship that impairs your ability to make payments. The second factor is that the home lacks sufficient equity to pay off the mortgage after costs of sale are considered. What constitutes a hardship? It could be a bankruptcy, unemployment, or other reduction in your income. Perhaps you’ve been forced to accept a job transfer to another part of the
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