The Illinois Law Group

What would you say if you found out that there is a way to avoid foreclosure on your property? Given the current economic climate many homeowners are discovering that if they learn how to short sale they can avoid most of the negative impact of a foreclosure and still settle their obligations to their lender. It is definitely not an easy process, but for many Americans over their heads in mortgage debt it represents the best chance they have to prevent a decade of bad credit and debt obligations extending well beyond the seizure of their property.

The biggest problem with short selling a house is navigating through the complicated process in time to prevent a foreclosure from taking place. Opting to short sell your house is ultimately an acknowledgment between the lender and the borrower that it would be more cost effective for both parties to cut their losses and sell the property for less than the mortgage is worth. This deal is normally unavailable in a seller’s housing market when buyers are beating down the door to make a bid, but one of the few advantages of the economic crisis is how willing many banks are to accept these arrangements for the benefit of all parties involved. In the end the bank gets to eliminate a defaulted debt for far less money than it would cost to foreclose and resell the property, the homeowner is able to avoid foreclosure and get out from under their mortgage debt, and the new buyer purchases a house at an extremely discounted rate.

Thus if you are at risk for foreclosure then it would do you good to find some short sale help from a real estate or bankruptcy professional and seriously explore short selling as an option. There is no money to be made in short selling–quite the contrary, in many cases!–but it represents a real chance to get out from under your debt obligations and get on with your life. However, unless you possess an inordinate amount of real estate experience it is highly unlikely that you can negotiate the process on your own. Find a good Chicago bankruptcy attorney to consult with about your options, and work with a negotiating firm to convince your lender that a short sale would benefit all parties involved. It is not always a pretty option, but for roughly 8 million homeowners in America it may be the best option, if not the only option to escape from a difficult situation.

So what choices does an underwater homeowner have once they have been blocked from refinancing their loans or working out a deal with their lender? Sadly, not many, but one big option left to you is learning how to short sale and then trying to convince the bank to cut its’ losses before a lengthy foreclosure battle. Being faced with a foreclosure notice is not a pretty situation, but it is a situation becoming ever more common each day that the Great Recession persists. Unfortunately the damage to your credit rating from a foreclosure can remain on your score for upwards of ten years, which can influence applying for future loans or even certain jobs, potentially preventing you from fully recovering from your hardships. This is why it is drastically important for you to avoid allowing the bank to foreclose on your home if there is still anything that you can do to stop it.

The catch with short selling your property is, as usual, the bank. Short selling is the process of selling your property for a discounted rate to settle your debts with the mortgage holder, mitigating the damage caused by your default. However, this means that you need to convince the bank to accept less payment for your home than initially promised, which is not something they want to get in the habit of doing. You will probably need short sale help from a professional in order to convince the lender to accept a short sale agreement, and to hopefully prevent them from suing you for the remaining debt later.

Yes, that is right, under some short sale agreements the bank can still sue the seller for the debt remaining after the discounted sale, leaving the homeowner in a bad spot (and now homeless). Retaining a skilled Chicago bankruptcy attorney can go a long way toward preventing this situation during the negotiations, and would also be extremely handy in the initial phases of convincing the bank to allow a short sale at all. During sellers’ markets most banks are at best hesitant to allow their borrowers to sell the properties at a loss, but perhaps the only advantage of the Great Recession is the upswing in short sales caused by a critical mass of broke homeowners and desperate banks.

In sum, make sure to do your homework and learn about short selling your property before you allow the bank to foreclose on your home and wreak havoc on your credit. If you convince the bank to accept the short sale and negotiate a good deal that includes waiving the right to pursue deficient judgment you may just make it out of this mess in one piece. Good luck!

There are 8 million homes in America that are currently worth less than the mortgages are, meaning that their owners are forced to either pay the bank after they sell the home or find some short sale help to offer a beneficial alternative that doesn’t come with ten years of bad credit. Unfortunately millions upon millions of people took out loans they could not afford or exotic adjustable rate mortgages during the housing boom of the mid-2000s that have risen to impossible heights as a result of the poor economy. As a result every day our newspapers are clogged with stories of homeowners ending out on the streets after the bank arrived to claim their due, and countless others are doing everything they can to avoid a similar fate.

If you are buried under a mountain of debt that you simply cannot pay it may be time to consult the advice of a Chicago bankruptcy attorney to learn about the myriad of ways you can renegotiate or settle your obligations as painlessly as possible. However this can be a lengthy process, and if you are already staring the specter of foreclosure in the face then it is time to take decisive action and being teaching yourself how to short sale now, before foreclosure becomes a reality. Believe it or not, short selling is even more useful to those who are making payments and have good credit than those who already possess damaged credit scores due to the bad economy. This is because homeowners making payment still have a salvageable credit score, making the payoff for all of the hassle of the short sale process much more worthwhile.

Let’s face it, convincing your lender to agree to a short sale on your defaulted property is no easy feat. The process was fairly uncommon until the housing market imploded, but fortunately now many banks are realizing that it is simply cheaper and more humane to negotiate a short sale with their borrowers than to change the locks and throw the tenants out on the street. With the right advice and a bit of luck you can capitalize on this trend, but you will need to be persistent and do your homework before initiating the discussion. Be sure to have plenty of documentation proving your financial hardship and explaining, in bold numbers, exactly why it would be better for the bank to work with you than to foreclose. With some coaching by your legal counsel and a little preparation you can preserve your credit score and eliminate another toxic debt on the list. So what are you waiting for?

And don’t forget to speed up your slow Macbook for maximum performance.

Don’t feel like you are going to have to deal with the fact that you received a notice of foreclosure in the mail on your own. This is simply not the case, even if you think you shouldn’t tell others due to embarrassment. It’s best to actually start spreading the word about your issues so that others can reach out to help you. You’d be surprised at how many of your friends and family members have been faced with the exact same issues. One thing that they might advise you to do could involve getting in touch with a good Chicago bankruptcy attorney to help you during this difficult time.

You should thoroughly research your attorney before you decide to hire them, however. This is something that is relatively easy to do since most attorneys now have an online presence. You can just go from one website to the next in order to find out which lawyer you think might best suit your needs and specific situation. Always try to find one that has a sufficient amount of experience dealing with property law.

You’ll also want to do some preliminary research into how to short sale before you speak with the attorney. For instance, you’ll want to know if you even could potentially qualify for such a sale. In order to qualify for this sort of transaction, the value of your home is going to have to be less than the value that you owe the bank or lending company on your loan.

Working with a qualified attorney is a good idea because all of the parties involved are going to have to agree to the short sale in order for it to actually happen. Most likely, the attorney is more skilled at negotiating these types of matters than you. Therefore, you should trust that your short sale help is going to be able to do some useful negotiating on your behalf. Try to remember that it is actually in the best interest of the lending company to go through with the short sale.

You might have many other different things going on in your life at the time that you receive your foreclosure notice, and you shouldn’t have to put these things on hold. This is why you should hire an attorney to go through all of the complicated paperwork while you take care of other matters. You’ll love the fact that they will make it easy for you to resume your every day activities once you have completed the sale.