[Golden Monkey]

My Mother-in-Law lives with us and has two very rare lung diseases. She needs a double lung transplant and the only surgeon we've found that will take her case is in Houston, TX. We have to relocate within 6 months.

We bought a new Condo about 1 1/2 years ago. I just had it appraised and it's worth $18,000 less than I owe on it. We're going to have to do a Short-Sale. We don't have much of a choice. Her life is more important than great credit.

I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with a Short-Sale. I would really like any input I can get. I've done some research but I would just like to hear from someone who has been through it themselves.

It sucks because my wife and I both have awesome credit. I have to leave my home because of an emergency not because I can’t afford to live here. Things happen. I'm wondering how bad it will impact our credit. I’m also hoping that we will be covered under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 so that I won’t get smacked with a big tax bill.

[JGatti]

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey

My Mother-in-Law lives with us and has two very rare lung diseases. She needs a double lung transplant and the only surgeon we've found that will take her case is in Houston, TX. We have to relocate within 6 months.

We bought a new Condo about 1 1/2 years ago. I just had it appraised and it's worth $18,000 less than I owe on it. We're going to have to do a Short-Sale. We don't have much of a choice. Her life is more important than great credit.

I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience with a Short-Sale. I would really like any input I can get. I've done some research but I would just like to hear from someone who has been through it themselves.

It sucks because my wife and I both have awesome credit. I have to leave my home because of an emergency not because I can’t afford to live here. Things happen. I'm wondering how bad it will impact our credit. I’m also hoping that we will be covered under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 so that I won’t get smacked with a big tax bill.

I'm not exactly sure if any of this helps as I am not an expert. But if it were me, I'd transfer everything into one persons name, stop payment and walk away. The when they attempt to come after you ( and they will) have the person who's name it was in file bankruptcy.

[jeanniepep]

We wound up having to sell our house for $11K less than we owed on it, but rather than damage our credit, we took out a loan for the balance. Basically, my husband called his credit card company and they let us do a $11K balance transfer (from the card to our bank account) with a nice low percentage rate for the first year. It took us about 18 months to pay off, but our credit remained undamaged. That was exactly 2 yrs ago, and now we're able to buy a new house with no problem because our credit is still good (we still have a butt-load of debt, but excellent credit).

Would anything like that be an option? Can you get a side loan to cover the difference so you don't wind up damaging your credit?

[Golden Monkey]

Well our place appraised for $18,000 less than we owe on it. I had the appraisal done in April. I've heard from a few people that they have lost another 10-15% of the value of their home since GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. I don't think taking a loan out will work for us. We’re hoping we can Short-Sell the house. I’m going to have to call my bank and see what they’re willing to do.

I’m still looking for some input from someone who has actually been through the process. Thanks.

[Jswee]

A short sale will impact your credit but not as badly as a full blown foreclosure. You won't have to pay taxes on the forgiven debt. Work with your lender, some are easier to work with than others on a SS. Make sure that the broker you use has lots of short sale experience, it will make it a much easier process. You might also inquire with your lender about whether they would allow a formal loan assumption instead of a SS/potential default or whether they would wave the due on sale clause in your mortgage and allow you to sell it on a Land Contract. Another option you might want to talk to your lender about is doing a deed in lieu of foreclosure, although that will mess your credit up worse. If you only have one mortgage, the short sale is much less complicated, if you have a second involved, it gets much more difficult to get all parties to agree. As far as your credit being impacted, the reality is that it's less of a big deal then it was prior to our recent economic crisis, there are a whole lot of other people in the same boat.

[Midas AG]

My close friends are looking at a short sale on their house, so i have a little bit of info. The short sale stays on your credit for 3 years. A bank will NOT do a short sale if your still making payments on it. They have no reason to if your making payments. The smartest thing to do , if possible, transfer the house/mortgage over to the person who's credit is the worst. Even if this is not possible, stop making the payments, and as soon as that first payment is missed, go to your bank asking for a short sale. Get as much info from your bank, as they hold teh final say in whether to short sale it or not.

[Shortsale Investor]

How much do you owe on the property and location.. description and address... im an investeror looking for shortsales... Jake

[Gary Carpenter]

I negotiate short sales on a daily basis. Don't believe some of what you read here. Banks do want to do a short sale as opposed to a foreclosure. A foreclosure will cost a bank, on average, $60,000 per Freddie Mac. The government has come out with a new program that will help speed up the time frame it takes to negotiate out the deal and will give the bank a monetary incentive to have a speedy outcome to the negotiations. With a short sale, it does not stay on your credit for three years, if it's negotiated right. When a short sale is handled correctly it helps both the bank, the homeowner and the market that the house resides. If you have any further questions, or would like more information on the short sale process, e-mail me at support1@mlpshortsale.com

Thank You,
Gary Carpenter