Over the last several months I have had several people contact me in need of selling their investment properties.

The problem was that they owed more than the homes were worth.  That’s where a short sale comes in.  You may not know that a short sale can work for investment property and not just for a primary residence. 

With a short sale we have to prove that the seller has a financial hardship that requires them to sell the home.  Perhaps the rent amount is not sufficient to cover the carrying cost of the home.  Perhaps a loss of job or medical condition requires the home to be sold.  Our team works with the areas leading short sale attorney.  We provide a checklist with all the documentation required so that our clients can fill this out and get it to the attorney even before we have a contract on the home.  The attorney will use the documentation to prove the financial hardship and negotiate with the bank to take less than what the seller owes.

As with any short sale, the process will take a long time – usually 90 days to get an approval from the bank.  Because the property is a second home the bank may place a deficiency judgment against the seller for the balance of what is owed.  Our attorney works to make sure that there is no further liability to our clients in this case.  Also the short sale is more likely to go through if there is just one mortgage on the property or both mortgages are with the same bank. 

The bottom line is a short sale can work for sellers in need of selling an investment property or second home.

Our team helps home sellers, buyers and investors in the Atlantic County and Atlantic City area.

You can reach me at 609-484-9890 ext. 132.

Thank you and best wishes, Matt