Short Sales for 2008 hit an all-time high in Arizona, Nevada, California and Florida.
Home Values Plummet $2 Trillion in 2008
With a rising number of adjustable-rate mortgages on the verge of resetting, continued economic instability and plummeting housing values, the Federal Reserve predicts that new foreclosures will reach about 2.25 million over the next twelve months.
In 2008, distressed property sales (Foreclosures and Short Sales) comprised 40% of U.S. home sales. A Short Sale occurs when a lender agrees to accept less than is owed on a home loan.
With these staggering predictions, call me crazy…but you would think that the words “Short Sale” would be flowing from the mouths of the media and our government who’s been focusing on ways to Stop Foreclosures!
We need mass public awareness for anyone who’s facing foreclosure. There are alternatives to foreclosure and it doesn’t cost the seller of the home anything. That means the bank pays real estate agents commissions. Kris and I talk to everyone we can about the alternative to loosing a home to foreclosure. If a loan modification is not going to work, you have alternatives to just letting the house go back to the bank.
It’s a highly emotional time, and frankly, when you’re faced with no way to keep your home the last thing most people think about is “serious credit damage” and not being able to purchase another home for many years due to the ramifications of foreclosure.
So far, the federal loan modification programs don’t appear to be working. More than half of homeowners whose loans were modified to avoid foreclosure, fell delinquent within six months. To date, more than 78,000 Americans have had their homes repossessed. As a result, Short Sales are becoming more common.
If you or anyone you know is facing the loss of their home, please don’t let it go to foreclosure. Find a skilled real estate agent that will take the burden from your shoulders. You’ll be able to start putting the pieces back together and move on….without the 10 year hit to your credit.
With a Short Sale, you can purchase again within 18 to 24 months, as long as you meet lender qualifications.
