Short Sale

What is a Short Sale?

In real estate, a short sale is when a bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic hardship on the part of the mortgagor (or rather the lender allows the home to be sold for less than what is owed to the lender currently). The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender usually for full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale.

Who Can Qualify For a Short Sale?

Anyone that owes more than a home is worth may be eligible for a short sale, though it is up to the Mortgage Company or bank as to whether to accept a short sale. It should be noted that a person does not have to stop making payments (be in default) to qualify for a short sale. Every situation is different and the decision to go with a short sale, foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure or other option is a difficult one. If you are in this situation, contact us today for a free consultation and begin your clean start now!

Experienced CA Short Sale Attorney

We know short sales. Currently we have negotiated over 500 short sales since 2007 and we have been involved in assisting Realtors or others in some capacity in hundreds of other short pay transactions (short sales, settlements, etc.). We have more experience in this area than any other attorney or Realtor that we are aware of.   This does not include our experience negotiating hundreds of loan modifications prior to 2009 when we stopped accepting those cases.  Not only do we understand California law as it applies to mortgages, short sales, lender behavior and requirements, but we know how to get issues resolved and escalate them if the lender is not behaving.

Attorneys can add credibility to any negotiation especially where short sales are involved because the lenders/servicers may be worried about the threat that attorneys have and of course the legal knowledge that the experienced attorney should possess means credible arguments cemented in California law can be made on your behalf showing why your lender should approve a short sale! Our clients are all very well versed in their options and the ramifications of those options. We carefully carve out a personal game plan for each client and their unique situation. Whether a client makes 80k a year, or 500k a year, is 100k upside down or 1 million upside down in their home value we have handled it all.

In all of our short sales transactions deficiency judgments are always a negotiation point with the lender, all approvals should contain language releasing their lien on the property and releasing the client from liability. This is extremely critical and a point that many Realtors may overlook. Another reason that an attorney should be involved in some way with a short sale or settlement situation.

Real Estate Agents & Short Sales

If you think a short sale might be right for you, it is critical you work with the right professionals. Frequently lenders ask homeowners to sign a promissory note or specifically agree to liability after the transaction closes.  Closing a short sale on these terms actually makes the homeowner worse off.  Only a qualified real estate and short sale attorney can give you legal advice and fully represent your interests.  In addition we frequently see where a real estate agent wants a shot at closing the short sale, but if it gets difficult they often will give up and not want to put the extra work into closing it as they think it isn’t worth their time or maybe the commission they will get.  That kind of attitude isn’t what you want in your corner.  By that point it may be too late for us to step in and save it if the damage has already been done due to the agents lack of experience.

Using a real estate agent only to negotiate your short sale is honestly not the best representation you can have. Real estate agents are not attorneys and are not allowed to give legal advice or review documents to give advice on what they mean.  They are also subject to liability for guiding their clients in the wrong direction or not informing them of any legal liability they may be facing, so utilizing an attorney helps all involved, real estate agent and homeowner. We work with Realtors in negotiating their short sales all the time and we can also handle the listing in-house through our affiliated brokerage StoneCrest Realty if the client prefers or does not know an agent who is experienced in short sales.

Need Assistance Buying or Selling With a Short Sale?

In-House Brokerage to Serve You

StoneCrest Law Firm remains an steadfast pillar in the real estate marketplace. We found that working with many real estate agents was a frustrating process of educating them on real estate law, short sales and how to properly protect our clients’ interests. In response, we created an in-house affiliated brokerage, StoneCrest Realty, to properly service our clients’ needs and adequately protect their interests. This allows us to control all aspects of the real estate transaction to make certain nothing goes wrong, and our clients are protected and not the victims of uneducated agents and their promotion of their own self-interests.

Whether you are selling your house as a short sale, or you are interested in buying a short sale home, StoneCrest Law Firm’s in-house brokerage StoneCrest Realty can meet all of your needs. We want to make your short sale process a success, and protect you from the complications that can arise with short sales. We offer free consultations to prospective clients. Contact us today.

The Keys to Our CA Short Sale Success:

• We have two experienced full time short sale negotiators on staff. Both are certified transaction coordinators and one has been a paralegal and with us for years. They communicate daily with the banks, with the persistence required to get the sale approved, all under the attorney’s guidance.
• Our team of attorneys and legal staff are well versed in all of the major banks’ short sale software and internal processes.
• We know the correct steps to take to reach the final approval; nothing slips through the cracks and we know when and how to escalate a file to get the attention it needs.
• Due to the volume of short sales we have handled over the years we have developed close contacts at many of the banks and servicing institutions who can help get a short sale expedited and who are used to and respect working with us.
• We have negotiated and closed over 500 short sales, we typically average as part of our case load about 40 short sales in process. These include all property types including land, condos, homes, multi-family and commercial properties, with values from $100,000 to over $3,000,000. Our clients range from having experienced dire financial hardships to relocation to not having any financial hardship and having significant assets and income.

We have closed nearly every CA short sale we have negotiated. For 2012 our CA short sale approval rate was 94% and so far for 2013 our CA short sale approval rate is 100%. We work hard, are tenacious and hate to hear the word “no” and will do everything possible to get you the result you are looking for.

*The statistics mentioned above are not indicative of a result that you may receive as all cases and clients financial situations are different.  We do not guarantee any results. Please be careful of any company that does, guarantees in this industry and in the legal field in general are impossible.

We are experienced California Real Estate Attorneys and California Realtors. We are a unique and powerful combination and can help you with your real estate legal issues.  We have helped thousands of people with pressing real estate issues find solutions and relief through the use of short sales, deed in lieu of foreclosures, strategic foreclosures, mortgage debt settlements and legal real estate review and advice.  

Our real estate attorneys have achieved proven results and can give you the great legal advice and strategy needed to get you the results you want. Contact us today to schedule your complimentary attorney consultation by clicking HERE or by calling 916-999-1376. We look forward to helping you with all of your California real estate needs.