#ExpertShortSales

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Get Expert Help in Short Sale Questions to Ask Before You Buy!

There are a number of questions you should ask your sellers when you have a short sale listing.

Ask your seller:

1. Who's on the mortgage? You need to make sure everyone on the mortgage is cooperative. Often ex spouses can throw a wrinkle into the deal and cause problems. The lender will normally require all the financials from everyone on the mortgage.

2. Are there other liens or mortgages? You are not done until all liens and judgments are cleared.

Don't know that or have forgotten, usually, the sellers. Just ask those questions:

Have you done a loan modification? We often find out there's a separate lien held by HUD on FHA loans. Sellers don't realize that their lender's basically refinancing the principal, but all the other fees including missed payments, penalties, filing fees, etc are lumped into another lien separate from the mortgage that must be paid in full.

Did you fall behind on credit card payments? Often this results in a judgment against the sellers and will be reflected on title to the property. These must be satisfied so have your seller locate the contact information of whoever is collecting on it and the account number.

Are you delinquent in municipal fees - Sewer/Trash? HOA fees? Federal Taxes? Child Support?

Do you have (or are you currently in) Bankruptcy? – You will need their bankruptcy attorney's contact information. If it is an active chapter 13, the lender will often require a letter from their attorney authorizing you to work on the short sale. You will also need to coordinate time frames with the attorney regarding the motions they will need to file to remove the house from the bankruptcy. It's also important that you prepare everyone for the extra delays with a bankruptcy that are always required after short sale approval and before settlement can take place.

These are just a few basic questions included in the seller questionnaire we ask sellers to complete when starting a new short sale file. The more you know, the better prepared you are, and the better your chances of closing the sale