Your Trusted Real Estate Advisor

In a previous post I referred to a short article I wrote on "What you should know about Short Sales" for those who may be thinking about what to do with their house that is "upside-down" financially.

Since then I've received some follow-up questions that refer to a situation where the house in question is owned by a divorced couple.  That brings in some specific issues in addition to the usual ones related to Short Sales.

Here is one example in reference to a situation where one party wants to sell via a Short Sale and the other doesn't want the ding on their credit that a Short Sale will bring, even though it will mean the two borrowers will have to bring a lot of money to the closing. They don't agree on how to list the house--as a Short Sale or not. The question is "Does the bank have to approve a short sale before the house can be placed on the market?"

My answer: "The bank does not have to approve a short sale before it can be placed on the market. The only thing that is required is for both borrowers to agree (1) to put it on the market, and (2) under what terms it will be sold. It helps a lot to start the conversation with the bank about a short sale before putting the house on the market, because only through that conversation can a borrower start to understand what approach the lender will eventually take."

More questions to come in future posts.

Check out the article itself, and call me if you have any questions.  303-284-3609