Yes you can but I would hire yourself an agent that can work with you on the short sale. Your home has to be listed and all the paperwork submitted. I can help you with this and get your shortsale accepted with my short sale team. Please go to my website and fill in the form and I will gladly get your more details.
Laura Baron
ERA Dream Team

Sam

We receive many questions like yours, which generally are simply taken at face value - my home as dropped in value, I'd like to do a short sale, take cash out to buy a new home.

Sorry if you did not like my answer, I was simply answering based on the information you provided.

You have some very helpful answers, which improved as you provided more information. As agreed, job loss, medical bills, etc. all play a factor in making a hardship case.

Good luck to you.

Hi again,

In reading your answer to all of us....job loss, medical bills....that is a legitimate hardship. And more important that you get some good advice. If you are making your mortgage payments now, I have to assume they are coming out of savings. I think it's important for you to talk to a BK attorney who can advise you on what to do. If you believe that you are going to be able to find new jobs in a reasonable time frame, then that might make sense....but if you need money to live on. Perhaps paying your mortgage is not the best use of your savings.This is not something a Realtor can advise, but an attorney can!!! I have a good one I've referred people to who will talk with you over the phone.

Also to give you a ballpark on foreclosure time frames.....you will most likely recieve a Notice of Default in about 3-4 months of a late payment, then that starts a "clock" of 90 days. If the bank believes that you might be able to short sale or work out a plan with them (ie loan mod or repayment plan) then they will often give you another 30-90 days to try. Otherwise they can schedule a sale in another 3 weeks.

That's a long time to be in your home and to find a way to stay!

I also find that sometimes when we submit the short sale package to the bank...that's when they become very aggressive at finding you a solution. You might end up with a nice loan mod by starting a short sale.....( I do NOT handle loan modifications or get paid in any way for that) but if it works out....isn't that great??? :) Especially if during the process time you've found new work.

You have options!!! The most important thing is you and your family! To make sure you make good financial decisions which allow you to go forward with life.....this is going to sound polyanic.....but your home is your family and the love, not the structure it's housed in! When I think about it, I remember all the different places I've lived in my life....some I've owned and some I've rented....and I've been happy in all of them.

K

Hi again, Sam. I see you've moved to a new thread. Some of the information you provided in the other thread, concerned me a bit - in terms of my offering advice. Either here, or in a private email, it would be good to know a couple of things.

1.) What was your original purchase?

2.) Were the two loans you mentioned in the other thread both used to purchase the property, originally?

3.) Or, did you purchase years ago, and then refinance for higher amounts, to pull cash out for ANY purpose?

The reason these questions MAY be important is if #3 is the case, you could be facing some legal issues, and/or tax ramifications - the solutions to which are probably beyond the authoritative scope of any of the agents providing answers here, and you should take their advice with a grain of salt - seeking the more qualified counsel of an attorney and/or tax preparer.

In MOST cases - in spite of the advice of agents hungry for a commission - a short sale should be the next to last resort - last being foreclosure - in my humble opinion.

Again, good luck in finding solutions.

Hi Sam,
Yes you can definately do a short sale on your home if you are not behind. The bank will look at the reasons you need to sell. If you have already purchased another home and are making two payments the likelyhood of your creditor doing a short sale for you is somewhat diminished, but not completely out of the question. If you have a hardship you can show, it fairs better with the bank.
Hope that helps you out.
Connie Bramble
Prudential Ca Realty

Thanks Karen, Thom, Carolynn & Bill.
Keith, you obviously have an axe to grind so I will definitely not contact you for your services!
I typically find that people with negative opinions have negative results.
And p.s.. Because of unexpected medical bills and my wife's job loss and mine, we do not have the income to support the original loans!
Is that negative enough for you-Keith?
Thanks again for the optimistic agents and brokers!
I will determine our overall situation and contact one of you!
Sam

Sam
If your home had appreciated by the same degree would you want to give the money back to the lender?

Sam -

You've received some terrific answers below and as usual I like to add my .02 - So, as the others have said DO NOT stop making payments just to get a short sale done. You should only stop making payments on anything when you can no longer afford it. If you can afford your mortgage (and the bank will figure it out from your short sale package and when they pull your credit) you may be eligible for a Loan Modification. DO NOT pay anyone to do this for you - your lender will do it for free.

What I am trying to say is, after successfully closing more than 50 short sales in the past year as a Listing Broker and negotiator for other agents and brokerages - I've seen it all.

Bottom line is there MUST be a "hardship" and others have given examples but additional examples could be IRS issues, Mortgage Interest rate increase / adjustment, loss of a job / reduced hours, etc.

If you are trying to do a short sale simply because the value has dropped, even though you can afford the mortgage - it won't be approved. The lender who holds your mortgage (or mortgage{s}) makes a difference also. If it's "legacy" Countrywide, "legacy" WAMU, or any HSBC - it will take a long time and they will want a promissory note for the difference.

Also, lately, all o fthe lenders are requiring the Seller, Buyer, Selling and Listing Brokers, Title and Escrow Officers, to sign an "Affidavit of Arm's Length Transaction" or a "Seller to Permanently Vacate Premises" to fend off any family or investor related sales that would allow the seller to remain in the property.

Best of luck,

Thom Colby
Broker / REALTOR
Orange County, CA

Hi Sam,

Yes you can do that! I have a couple of short sales right now who stayed current up until the close to mitigate the negative impact on their credit. I don't know if it really makes a difference, though. A short sale is a big hit and I sense that the negative from the short sale is about the same regardless of whether you have stayed current, or not.

I would suggest you talk with a BK attorney about that? or perhaps a mortgage broker with access to a GOOD credit reporting company.

Talk to the experts and then think it through....make sure that the money you are going to use to stay current is really a benefit for you, because it might be better saved to help your famiily after the short sale.

I am not advising you to stop making payments...please don't misunderstand, but this becomes a business decision and you need more information before you decide about the payments.

You have a lot of questions......if you would like to speak in private, please shoot me an email and we can go into a bit more detail about your questions.

Karen

Good morning, Sam.

It depends upon the lender. Don't stop making payments unless you know for a fact that the lender requires that. The most important factor is having a good and complete hardship package. You need to have a reason why you must short-sale the home, such as job loss, medical, income reduction, etc. Enlist a good short-sale agent who will help you work through the process. Have you considered a loan modification?

I wish you the best of luck.

Regards,
Carolynn Santaniello
carolynn@ocrealtress.com
714.797.3622

Hi Sam,

Yes, you can do a short sale with out being behind in your payments. However, you must be able to show a hardship to the bank as to why you are doing a short sale. A reason such as being transfered to the east coast or an invalid parent moving in with you or, hopefully not a divorce. These would be valid reasons for needing to sell your house even though it is worth less than you owe on it. Once the bank recognizes your hardship then you can proceed with the shortsale. If you have no hardship other than the decreased value, the lender will want you to either stay in the home or bring cash to the closing to cover the shortage in the sale price versus the loan obligation.

Regards,
Bill