Short sale sellers and owners seeking a loan modification need legal representation sooner rather than later in the process. I have used the example of the sand filled hour glass, with each grain of sand being an opportunity for financial planning, tax planning, strategy creation and fulfillment, and a solution to the financial distress of the seller. As time goes on, the sand drops to the bottom, and is lost forever. Often people come to see me with all the sand gone - and I just cannot help them - it's too late.
GET A REAL ESTATE AGENT!
With very few exceptions, we tell anyone that comes to see us that has even a few grains of sand left, to see a real estate broker and if they don't know how to find one, we give them a list of brokers that work their area and we know to be experienced in short sales. [We also tell them to interview at least 3, and choose one that they feel comfortable with.] They need a real estate broker to understand the market for their property and gauge how long to get an offer and at what price. Doing a good job as proponent for the seller means knowing at least as much as the bank is going to know about the property.
IT IS SELDOM TOO LATE TO DO A SHORT SALE
We have many times achieve a short sale from a dead start, with only a few weeks to go until a foreclosure sale is scheduled to occur. Trust me! - it's not a fun experience - and I often think that in such situations I need to stick to my motto, "PAY ME NOW OR PAY ME MORE LATER!" It is certainly a challenge to save one of the opportunity or solution grains of sand just as it is passing through to that bottom of the hour glass! But it can be done.
REALISTIC SOLUTIONS
The fact that we can get a short sale done just when the homeowner seems to be falling over Niagara Falls is proof that lenders prefer short sales to other liquidation solutions. The seller must be educated to understand that not all opportunities are on the table - because they are so late to the party. Planning is the biggest opportunity that is usually gone. What I tell all our short sale clients is the same - "you don't know if you don't try". Probably 9.8 times out of 10 the end result is a closing that the seller is satisfied with relative to the other "options". But you don't get a satisfied customer unless the customer is fully informed of all the other options. We NEVER tell a client what to do. We advise them of the consequences of their decision for each decision option they may take.
Tell your sellers to be pro-active and get legal and real estate agent advice so that they can plan a strategy rather than react to a first strike by the lender. It will make you involvement as a broker more rewarding and pleasant in the short sale process - or maybe you can even make the sacrifice to find out the potential seller is actually better off with a loan modification. Those situations often create long term referral sources since you were so honest in looking out for the best interest of the client.
Copyright 2011 Richard P. Zaretsky, Esq.
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Be sure to contact your own attorney for your state laws, and always consult your own attorney on any legal decision you need to make. This article is for information purposes and is not specific advice to any one reader.
Richard Zaretsky, Esq., RICHARD P. ZARETSKY P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 1655 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD, SUITE 900, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33401, PHONE 561 689 6660 email: RPZ99@Florida-Counsel.com - FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED IN REAL ESTATE LAW - We assist Brokers and Sellers with Short Sales and Modifications and Consult with Brokers and Sellers Nationwide! Shortsales@Florida-Counsel.com Website www.Florida-Counsel.com .
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