The Art of the Short Sale

Waiting to sell your home can cost you big, but with a short sale you may be able to beat foreclosure and get your life back on track. With southern Maryland home sales going up, if you want to settle liens and debts against your home, you should seriously consider a short sale as an option for debt negotiation. It’s used more and more as an alternative to foreclosure, and with it you can turn the golden age of mortgages in your favor. Here we’re going to go over how short sales work, and how you can use them to tip the scales in your favor.

What a Short Sale is

The first thing you need to know is that a short sale won’t “wipe out” all of your debt; many realtors will tell you this so they can collect a fee, but depending on how the short sale agreement is formed, you may be able to make a dent and those holding the liens on your property may settle for less than what is owed. You won’t get a public notice of sale nailed to your front door, so you can sell your home with some dignity. The most important thing to know about a short sale is depending on your circumstances you may be able to buy a new home right away, or in 2 years.

What a Short Sale isn’t

A short sale isn’t a cure all for your debts; the sale price will fall “short” of what is owed, but you’ll still have a deficiency of debt that you may or may not have to pay off. You’ll have 7 years of derogatory credit to deal with, and you may not be able to buy a home for 5-7 years if you have 60 day past due accounts on your credit report. You’ll need a good realtor to help you negotiate your offer, but there are no guarantees that the bank and your creditors will accept your short sale offer. It can be risky and it can take time to sell your home, but the rewards can be great!

How a Short Sale Can Work for You

Why go through all the pain and embarrassment of a foreclosure when you can avoid it with a short sale? You can start rebuilding your credit and can get into a new home in two years or less if you use credit wisely. Instead of allowing your home to slip into foreclosure and the debt to haunt you forever, short sales give you a proactive solution!

The southern Maryland market is hot right now, but it’s hot for buyers and not for sellers. You need to understand that buyers have options, but you have an advantage over other sellers; you have a better price and you really want to sell your home. Short sale homes are extremely popular in southern Maryland, so if you want to sell your home and clear out your debt, now is the time! If you’d like to learn more about what a short sale can do for you, check out my free short sale information.