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:Selling.jpgYour Goal is to SELL Your Home!

If selling your home is your best option we understand that this may have been a difficult choice.  The Financial Crisis has deemed these times as truly historical and very challenging.

The first major consideration you must take into account is whether or not you owe more on your home than what it is worth.  In about 87% of our clients, this is the case.  Selling your home when you owe more than the value of the home results in what is called a “Short Sale”.  A Short Sale is just how it sounds, the home is going to be sold short of what the payoff is.  In this instance, the bank absorbs the difference between the sales price and what is owed.  In other words, the bank is being “shorted” on their payoff. 

(NOTE: If the payoff of your home is less than the value of the home, then this would be considered a traditional real estate transaction and you will not require specialized assistance.  Simply contact a local realtor or call us for a referral if need be)

As you can imagine, banks do not particularly prefer you selling your house “Short” so this type of sale must be agreed upon by the bank which often takes place after some considerable discissions.  When there is more than one lender involved, like a second mortgage, the process becomes several times more complicated.  Although we advocate a Do-it-yourself approach to many workout solutions, this is one area of expertise that requires a Real Estate Professional with significant experience.

The benefit of completing a Short Sale with your lender as opposed to abandoning the property or “Walking Away” can be psychologically and financially significant.  When you abandon your property or walk away, the bank remedies the default by foreclosing on the home.  Even if you are not living in the home at the time, a bank foreclosing on your home in the neighborhood you live can be disrupting and even embarrassing.  A Short Sale remedies this by affording you the opportunity to sell the home and move on your terms as opposed to the bank “pushing” you out.  We find for many of our clients, this is both an “empowering” and a financial responsible experience that they can better good about.



Beginning the Short Sale Process with helpUmodify

Once you have decided on a short sale, the first task will be to complete a short application and family budget.  There are NO FEES for this service.   Start Here.  This 15-minute process will collect all of the soft information we will need to analyze your situation.  At the end of the application you will receive an e-mail with some important disclosures that need to be signed and faxed back to us with some supporting documentation. 

Once we receive all of your information we will conduct a qualifying probability analysis and determine if you qualify for a short sale.  

Once we qualify you, the first and most important part of the process is to hire a local Realtor® to represent you in the sale of your home.  Local Realtors® are a necessity as they understand your local market and will know where to price your home to get it sold as quickly as possible.  This is significant as banks often provide only a short window of opportunity for selling your home, especially if you have stopped making the payments on the mortgage.

helpUmodify maintains a nationwide network of Realtors® that specialize in short sale transitions.  Upon application of your Short Sale request helpUmodify will match you with a local Realtor® to get your property listed quickly and at the perfect sales price.  Our Real Estate partners know the need to meet the time restrictions of most lenders, especially if you are in the foreclosure process.

Getting Started
To begin the process, complete the following application and follow the instructions for completing your application at the end of the form.  Again, there are NO FEES for this service. We look forward to helping you with your workout solution.








Do-it-Yourself TIP #1

Before contacting your lender to discuss your situation, be prepared to provide them with your family budget.  This includes all of you income and expense in your household.  Your lender will ask you for this information as a means of qualifying you for one of their standard workout solutions.  Be as accurate as you can as overestimating your income or your expenses may cost you an approval.


Do-it-Yourself TIP #2

When communicating with your lender, clearly express your desire and intentions to keep the home.  Do not threaten to walk away from the home.  Lenders want to work with homeowners who truly desire to stay in their homes and are willing to work through their challenges.


Do-it-Yourself TIP #3

While exploring workout solutions with your lender, keep up on your payments as best you can.  Contrary to what you are hearing out there, purposefully withholding mortgage payments as a means of negotiating is bad advice and can cost you the ability to obtain a better mortgage as conditions in the mortgage market improve and other workout solutions become available.


Do-it-Yourself TIP #4

Prepare yourself for a long drawn out fight with your lender, perhaps the fight of your life.  You can expect the process to take upwards of 120 days and possibly having to start over once or twice to achieve the desired results.  Make your workout solution a part time job and dedicate 2 to 3 hours a week doing research and contacting your lender(s).