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

“The median price for existing single-family homes in the Denver area is down by 6.6 percent in the first quarter, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday. “ See the entire article at: Denver Business Journal May 13, 2008. 

This sounds like bad news. However, it could be good news because a drop in the median price could just mean that more of the lower priced homes are selling. If more lower priced homes are selling, those sellers will be able to move up.

For a different perspective, see this article from 5280 Magazine .

Some neighborhoods are not only holding up well, but are appreciating. So, the answer to the question of “How is the real estate market in Denver?” should be changed to “Which neighborhoods in Denver are appreciating, and which are depreciating?”