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Riverside, Haverhill  -  Announcing a price reduction on Unit J-140 Old Ferry Road, a 1,052 sq. ft., 2 bath, 2 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $110,000 - Affordable Townhouse.

Property information

First the bad news!!  Short sales take time.  I may be 90-120 days before you receive a response to your offer, sometimes more.  You must be able to wait several months before receiving a response from the seller/bank regarding your offer.

The good news!!   Short Sales can realize a potential savings of 3-10% or even more on the price of the property. 

So to avoid disappointment when it comes to short sales, here is a list of some tips:

• Make sure you have time to wait.  There is nothing you can do to speed up a response from the bank.
• Understand offer process of the listing agent.  Every agent handles it differently.  You do not want to get in a situation where your offer is just hanging out there and can be trumped by subsequent offers.
• Work with an agent that understands the process and the pitfaills of submitting a short sale offer.
• Find out who the bank(s) are that involved... is it one loans or two loans?  is one of them a HELOC?  All of this makes a difference in the potential success of a short sale purchase.  Some banks wont even do short sales while others are notorious for taking forever. Two loans can be more difficult than one and a HELOC can be more difficult than a second mortgage.
• Make your offer reasonable.  A 30% discount off of a very marketable home is not reasonable.  There are formulas that banks use in determining what price they will accept.  They will be willing to give up about 19% of fair market value.  Realize that 19% will also include real estate fees, closing costs and attorneys fees.... hence a 3-10% savings to the buyer.
• Put your financing in place early the bank will want you to close with-in 20-30 days of acceptance of a short sale.
• Prepare to be dissapointed... don't hang your hat on that one property.
  
• Be patient!!

A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure rather than a foreclosure might be an alternative for home owners in financial distress. A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is when the home owner voluntarily agrees to sign the deed over to the mortgagee (Bank). Similar to short sales, a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, the terms need to be negotiated with the bank. Please don't just leave your keys in the mailbox with and a note for the bank!

For success a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is usually predicated on the fact that there is only 1 lien on the home. Second loans, tax liens, home equity lines of credit, etc.... will make it nearly impossible to do this type of transaction.  The banks have not been doing a lot of these, but if they are willing to it is an option to going through putting your home on the market and doing a short sale.

There are advantages both to the home owner and the bank in a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure.

Homeowner Benefits:

• Avoid the embarrassment of a foreclosure
• Potentially being released from owing the balance of the loan after the sale
• Avoid the hassles of selling your property, no cleaning the property up, no showings, etc...
• Less impact on the home owners credit than a foreclosure

Lender Benefits:

• Saves Time...
• Saves Money ....

To foreclose on a property in Massachusetts the process can take many, many months. Every month that goes by costs the bank money in carrying costs. Once the Bank starts foreclosure proceedings on your home, the bank can plan on spending $35,000 to $50,000 in expenses. A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure can be a relatively simple way to get out of a house you can't afford. This type of transaction is being considered more and more by the banks.

If a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is not a possibility, than a short sale is the next and final step to prevent the bank from taking your home. Remember, don't let the bank take your home, you have many options before the bank forecloses.

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I am a certified short sale specialist and handle doing short sales in Merrimack Valley Massachusetts, and Middlesex County including the communities of Andover, Billerica, Boxford,Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Merrimac, North Andover, Newbury, Newburyport, North Reading,Reading, Rowley, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford, Wilmington, West Newbury  If you think you are in danger of losing your home in a foreclosure call me today.  Of course the consultation is of no obligation to you and is strictly confidential.  Call Kevin Vitali  at 978-360-0422.

Short Sales can be a frustrating process.  Here are a few Short Sale Don'ts:

1. Do not use exact figures when preparing your financial statements. Round up to the nearest whole number.  It is easier for everyone to read.
2. Do not file bankruptcy or hire credit counseling until you have exhausted all your options. 
3. Do not wait until the foreclosure process has started.  At the first sign of trouble contact your loss mitigation department.
4. Do not procrastinate.  Get your financial package completed and mailed.
5. Do not leave out any information. Every time the bank has to contact your for more documents it drags the process out.
6. Do not sign your house over to another person.  If you do that you lose all rights to the property but still owe the money.
7. Do not give up!! Its a frustrating process but if you hang in there, positive things can happen.

A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure can be a great alternative to look into before considering a short sale.   Basically a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is where the owner of the property voluntarily agrees to sign the deed over to the bank.  Like a short sale, a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure, needs to have the terms negotiated and the bank must agree.  Don't just leave the keys in the mailbox with a note for the bank.

A successful Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is predicated on the fact that there is generally only one  lien on your property.  That means no second loans, no tax leins, no home equity lines of credit.

There are advantages both to the home owner and the bank in a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure.  

For the Homeowner:

1 Avoid the embarrassment of a foreclosure
2 Potentially being release from owing a large sum of money
3 Avoid the hassles of selling your property
4 Less impact on the home owners credit than a foreclosure

For the Bank:

1 Saves Time...
2 Saves Money ....

To foreclose on a property in Massachusetts it can take many months.  Every month that goes by costs the bank money in carrying costs.  Once the Bank starts foreclosure proceedings on your home, the bank can plan on spending $35,000 to $50,000 in expenses.  A Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure can be a relatively simple way to get out of a house you can't afford.  If a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is not a possibility, than a short sale is the next and final step to prevent the bank from taking your home.

Has the foreclosure notice been delivered?  Are late mortgage payments piling up?

Call Kevin Vitali your Massachusetts Short Sales Realtor for a free consultation on what your options may be to a foreclosure.

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This post was provided by Kevin Vitali of EXIT Group One Real Estate In Tewksbury MA. You can contact Kevin by email at kevin@kevinvitali.com or call 978-360-0422. Your Massachusetts Short Sale Realtor

Real Estate Services in the northeast Massachusetts, around the Merrimack Valley, Southern New Hampshire including the towns of Andover, Billerica, Boxford, Chelmsford, Dracut, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Merrimac, North Andover, Newbury, Newburyport, North Reading, Rowley, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford, Wilmington, West Newbury