Foreclosure Alternative – Short Sale
A short sale is one long-term solution available to individuals and businesses facing an issue with their mortgage loan. Other solutions include: loan modifications, reinstatement, deed-in lieu of foreclosure, a negotiated payoff, and refinancing.
Whether you want to avoid a foreclosure lawsuit by a short sale or you want to end the foreclosure process by a short sale, our attorneys are here to help. Our team of real estate professionals will ensure the property is listed by a Florida licensed realtor, will assist in finalizing the real estate purchase contract, and the attorneys at Thompson Legal, P.A. will negotiate the short sale in-house. Most importantly, our attorney’s fees are paid by the bank at the closing so there are no out-of-pocket attorney’s fees!
5 Steps to Complete a Short Sale
Short sale negotiations involve a five-step process:
- Identifying the mortgage loans or other liens on the property
- Gathering all supporting financial documents for submission
- Submitting the completed application with all supporting documentation to the mortgage or lien company
- Continually Following-up with the mortgage or lien company
- Obtaining the short sale approval
The attorneys at Thompson Legal, P.A. walk our clients through each step of this process. First, you will bring your most recent monthly mortgage statements to our office and our firm will investigate the application and documentation needed for each bank or lien company. Our team of real estate professionals includes local Broward County, Florida title attorneys who will perform a lien search on the property to confirm that there are no additional mortgage loans or liens that must be addressed. Common examples of additional liens are homeowner’s associations, condominium associations, and home-equity lines of credit.
Next, our firm will assist you in locating and gathering all necessary financial documentation required by each bank or lien company. Generally, this includes: tax returns for 2 years, bank statements for 6 months, pay records for 6 months, and completing the request for mortgage assistance application.
We then submit the entire, comprehensive short sale application with supporting documentation to each bank or lien company and obtain confirmation that each completed package was received.
Fourth, our attorneys and legal staff continually follow-up with each bank or lien company to determine whether additional documentation is required. An example of additional documentation is a social security award letter for those of you receiving social security income, an approval letter by a homeowner’s association for those of you within South Florida neighborhoods with governing associations, etc. Often, the bank needs additional clarification of certain entries within your tax returns or bank statements and our firm assists you in drafting a letter of explanation. Once the bank or lien company confirms that no additional supporting documentation is needed, then your short sale application is transferred to the bank’s underwriting department.
Last, which usually occurs within 30 days, we will receive a short sale approval letter which outlines the bank’s terms for agreeing to the short sale and the real estate purchase contract proceeds to a closing.