In this article, Kalamazoo real estate expert Joel Nelson provides some straight talk about whether a short sale may be right for you

Q.  What is a short sale?

A..  The short answer is that a short sale is when a property is sold for less than the owner owes on the mortgage

Q.  Why would the mortgage company allow that?

A.  Because they lose less money than if the property were to be foreclosed.

Q.  How do I know if a short sale is right for me?

A.  If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you will want to investigate further into a short sale....

1.  Have the mortgage payments become unaffordable?.  2.  Is your home worth less than the amount owed?  3.  If you don't do something about your situation will you lose your home to foreclosure?  4.  Are you willing to invest some time into verifying that these facts are true? 

Q.  OK, yes, I'm faced with foreclosure.  I'm 2 months behind on the mortgage.  What do I do next?

A.  A short sale is better than letting the house go back to the bank.  A short sale can't repair the negative impact on your credit that was created when you missed 2 payments.  This is a hand grenade on your credit report.  But if you do nothing and let the home go to foreclosure, it is like a nuclear bomb on your credit rating that often is followed up with a bankruptcy.  What you should do next is learn about short sales.  Talk to your mortgage company.  They will quite likely encourage you to begin a short sale.  Talk to a local Realtor who is experienced in short sales in Kalamazoo.  But do it soon!  Time is your enemy.  Naturally, it's a difficult situation to confront but confront it you must.

Q.  Talk to a Kalamazoo Realtor?  I can't afford to pay the mortgage,  how am I supposed to pay the Realtor?

A.  Your mortgage company will pay the Kalamazoo Realtors. 

Q.  Really?  How does that work?

A.  Your mortgage company will calculate what they will net after the home is sold.  After all, SELLING the home is a big part of the short sale process.  Your lender understands this and will pay your Kalamazoo Realtors at the closing.

If you are a homeowner in SW Michigan facing foreclosure, visit our website at http://StopKalamazooForeclosure.com and sign up for a no cost, no obligation discussion about your options.

We specialize in helping Kalamazoo home owners avoid foreclosure.  Short sales in Kalamazoo is what we do.

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