sell

Qualifying for a Short Sale in Louisville KY

You are considered to be “underwater” if the value of your home has declined below the total amount you owe on your mortgage. Homeowners who are underwater may want to consider applying for Short Sale approval from their lender.

In most cases, there are five steps to apply for a Short Sale approval.

Step 1: Reach out to the lender's Loss Mitigation Department

Contact your lender's Loss Mitigation Department to determine your lender's specific Short Sale process and procedure. In general, the lender will start the process by requiring that you complete a Short Sale "package."

Some lenders won't even consider your application for Short Sale unless you have an actual buyer in hand. In those instances, the entire Short Sale review process doesn't even begin until after the property has been listed for sale and an offer has been received; this process typically takes longer. If you have already received a Notice of Default you should consult with an attorney prior to proceeding with a Short Sale.

Step 2: Completing the Short Sale Package

Essentially, you’re asking the lender to take a loss on this sale. Your Short Sale package is the only chance you have to explain in detail why this is necessary. If you don’t provide complete, accurate information, your chances of selling your home using a Short Sale take a nosedive.

You should also keep in mind that if you have other assets (recreational vehicles, 401k, investments, etc.) that can be tapped to pay your mortgage or to pay the loan in full your Short Sale application may be denied or the lender may require that you exhaust those assets prior to applying for a Short Sale. The lender will expect you to consider every income source available before agreeing to a Short Sale.

A Short Sale Package will likely require the following information from you:

Your financial statement including information about your financial background, assets, debts, etc.
Mortgage statements from all lien holders
At least two or three months of pay stubs
Tax returns from the previous two years, including W2s
All bank statements from at least the past two months
Property tax bills
A hardship letter

Step 3: Formulating the Hardship Letter

Generally speaking, the letter should be succinct and straightforward. It should identify the property address and loan number, and speak directly to the reasons why you can no longer make the mortgage payments.

Financial hardship definition: Financial hardships are factors that negatively impact your income or exacerbate the problems associated with a reduction or loss of income. For example:

Job loss
Change of life circumstance (death, divorce)
Illness and/or medical emergency
Interest rate change that causes the mortgage payment to increase

Release of full debt obligation: Another important purpose of the Hardship Letter is to request full resolution of the debt. After stating your reasons for hardship, you should specifically request the lender approve your Short Sale request, accept less than what is currently owed on the mortgage, and extinguish the mortgage note.

You should also ask the lender to accept the proceeds from the sale as payment in full of the loan obligation, and to forego any rights to a deficiency judgment to collect any unpaid mortgage debt amount (see "Deficiency Judgments" below). Many lenders may not agree to release its rights to seek a deficiency judgment so you should discuss your options with a tax advisor or attorney prior to proceeding with the Short Sale.

Step 4: Get Lender Approval to Sell

Once your hardship is determined to be genuine, the lender's loss mitigation department will:

Assess the value of the home to determine what the likely proceeds will be from the sale.
Determine the minimum it is willing to accept from the sale, though this won't necessarily be the list price. It's also likely that it won't tell you what its "minimum" is.

With the approval process underway, it's time for you to connect with a Short Sale Certified Red Edge Agent. They'll work with you to help determine the home's potential sales price and anticipated list price for market. From this, they will be able to present further information to the lender as to what the expected lender proceeds will be after costs and commissions.

Step 5: Selling the Home

Once the lender approves the Short Sale, you and your Red Edge Agent should immediately begin the process of selling your home.
As the offers come in, your Red Edge Agent will work with you to decide which offers are acceptable, generally based upon price and terms of the contract.

Keep in mind that the lender has the final say as to whether an offer is accepted, so you can (and probably should) accept more than one offer, and submit more than one to the lender.

Submitting the Offer for Acceptance

Your Red Edge Agent will present the offer (or offers) that you're willing to accept to the lender, along with:

Offer contract paperwork
Net Sheet: a calculation of all the costs, expenses, concessions, and repair requests, etc., demonstrating to the lender what the lender will receive as an actual payout when the property is sold and settled
Any other documents required by your lender

Be patient, this process could take weeks or even months.