Banks are feeling the pinch just like you. Sure they are not worried about losing their home, but financial institutions are experiencing great loses which puts you at an advantage. For those of you who owe the bank much more than the house is worth, you may be able to convince the bank to a short sale. Basically, the bank will agree to whatever you can get for the house and you can be free of the excess debt. If handled correctly, you may be able to stay in your house as well. That is a more complicated procedure which is dependant upon a number of isolated variables.
Doing a short sale is a pretty straight forward procedure really. As previouly stated the nuts and bolts of doing a short sale is in convincing the bank to accept less than what is owed. While this is simple conceptually, in theory, as you might guess, sometimes it is not as simple in practice. This is especially true in cases where the short sale will offer less monetary compensation than a foreclosure would give them. Still, one thing to keep in mind, when it comes to a short sale or any kind of foreclosure proceeding for that matter, it will not be a computer that makes the decision. And rarely will it be some sort of commitee - ultimately you can appeal to a person directly. And people, for the most part, can be reasoned with.
Your first step is to contact the lender. Dialing the lenders number is easy, actually getting to the right person is another matter entirely. Basically, you do not want an information taker, you want a decison maker. You want a supervisor or manager. Once you get that person you want to become human to them. Make sure they know you are a person not a number. Eventually you will need to provide a Letter of Hardship. When it comes to this letter, the sadder, the better. Describe why and how you are in your predicament. Be honest and truthful but don't be afraid to lay it on thick.
If you can't refinance... If you can't make your payments... If foreclosure seems inevitable... there are still some ways of staying in your house. Think about perhaps putting your house in a trust to another family member. I had a client who was inches away from foreclosure but his brother-in-law stepped in and agreed to make the payments and the house was put into a trust for him so when the client died, the house would pass to the brother-in law. My client got to stay in his house and his brother in law acquired an asset. It's not ideal, but it's a great deal better than giving it to the bank.
© 2008 Stopping Bank Foreclosure.