Understanding a Real Estate Short Sale

With the high rise in foreclosures these days, even those who do not invest in real estate are starting to hear the term “real estate short sale” or “mortgage short sale.” A simple definition of a short sale of real estate is an investor or buyer making a deal with the primary mortgage holder to accept less than the amount due on a mortgage; rather than the lender taking over the property through the foreclosure process and then ultimately loosing money on the property by selling it at a foreclosure auction.

Once a property goes into foreclosure the lender passes along the file they have on the property over to their loss mitigation department. It is the loss mitigator’s job to deal with the foreclosure and help the lender to retain as much money from the deal as possible. While the loss mitigation department may not act like they want to conduct a mortgage short sale, the truth of the matter is that generally they loose less money that way than having to auction off the property on the courthouse steps.

Dealing with a loss mitigator can be very challenging, especially to new real estate investors. The best advice I can give you is to try and always remember that it is in the loss mitigator’s best interest to ultimately deal with you. While they may act like they are not interested in negotiating with you, they are from the first time you reach out and contact them. For those who will not deal with you, there really is nothing you can do but go find another deal to make and leave that one on the table. There is nothing you can ultimately do about it and you are much better off finding other deals which will make you money.

Many real estate investors ask what is a reasonable offer to make to a lender for a mortgage short sale? Generally the rule of thumb is about 80% of the current mortgage balance on the property. But, the absolute rule is that you should never offer more money than you want to have into the property, and never more than you think the property is worth to work with and either sell or rent out.

By making a reasonable short sale offer, and treating loss mitigators well, you can generally close a deal with a mortgage short sale to your benefit.

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