Greater New Haven CT Real Estate: January 2009

In today's real estate market you are not alone if you are experiencing periods of financial instability and facing numerous hardships in trying to keep up with your mortgage payments and paying your monthly bills.

Each day can be a struggle trying to cope with the unbearable stress and heartache knowing there is a possibiity that you might lose your home to foreclosure or may have to file for bankruptcy.

Do you know that foreclosure is not the only option? Don't let his happen to you because you didn't know what they are. 

An alternative to foreclosure is pursuing the option of a short sale.  A short sale is the sale of your home negotiated with a bank or mortgage compnay to accept less than what is owed on the property

Did you know that banks prefer to do a short sale over a foreclosure? Banks are not in the business of owning property and do not want to foreclose on you. 

In order to qualify for a short sale, you must have a demonstrable financial harrdship.  You will have to prove this hardship through a signed letter that will be submitted toyour mortage company along with other documentation.

What is an Acceptable Hardship?

A hardship can be defined as a material change in the financial situation of a homeowner that is or will affect their ability to pay their mortgage.

Examples of acceptable financial hardship are:

1.  Loss of Job

2.  Business Failure

3.  Damage to Property

4. Death of a Spouse

5. Death of family members

6. Severe Illness

7. Inheritance

8. Divorce

9. Mandatory Job Relocation

10. Medical Bills

11. Military Service

12. Payment Increase or Mortgage Adjustment

13. Insurance or Tax Increase

14. Reduced Income

15. Separation

16. Too much debt

17. Incarceration

If you are finding yourself is a situation where you need to sell, owe more than your home is worth or have been late with your mortgage payments a short sale may be an option for you.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to be or to provide legal advice. We recommend that you speak to your attorney and your tax accountant regarding specifics and to find out if this is the best option for you in your situation.

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Contact Donna Bigda, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, Realtor®, RE/MAX Alliance Licensed Realtor® in the State of Connecticut at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, New Haven and the rest of shoreline area in New Haven County Connecticut.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Branford CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market and now is one of the best times to buy while interest rates remain low. For more information on Branford CT real estate homes or condos, see Branford CT real estate or sign up today to get access the hottest new listings here Branford CT homes and condos. 

Copyright © 2009 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*Is Your Home Fading Away?*

P.S.  If you are listing your home as a short sale in New Haven County Connecticut make sure you hire an agent who knows how to do short sales, can give you the expertise to help relieve the uncertainty and most of all, help your family.  Call me at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 and let’s get started on the path to recovery.

Links New Haven Connecticut Real Estate New Haven Public Schools Photo Gallery Description Very affordable 4 room, 2 bedroom sunlit unit. Freshly painted with new carpeting and updated bathroom. Living room/dining room combination. Great closet space. Great for owner occupant or investor. Easy access to I-91. Ready for immediate occupancy. Features Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Parking Spaces: Open Year Built: 1967 Located on Floor #: 2nd Square Footage: 793 Agent Name: Donna Bigda Broker: RE/MAX Alliance MLS #: M9114550 Location 40 Donna Drive New Haven CT 06513 Powered by vFlyer.com vFlyer Id: 2198384

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Contact Donna Bigda, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, Realtor®, RE/MAX Alliance Licensed Realtor® in the State of Connecticut at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, New Haven and the rest of shoreline area in New Haven County Connecticut.

If you're thinking about buying a home in New Haven CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market and now is one of the best times to buy while interest rates remain low. For more information on New Haven CT real estate homes or condos, see New Haven CT real estate or sign up today to get access the hottest new listings here New Haven CT homes and condos. 

Disclaimer:  All information provided by this author is strictly an opinion, is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from several sources, which may or may not be deemed reliable at the time of researching this article and may be time sensitive.

Copyright © 2009 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*New Haven Connecticut - Very Affordable Two Bedroom Condo - 40 Donna Drive*

Short Sales in Branford Connecticut and New Haven County - This is a series of articles for buyers and sellers to better understand what a short sale is and how to decide what to offer on a short sale, myths and truths about offer prices on short sales.

Here are the links to the Short Sales In Branford Connecticut and New Haven County Series:

An Alternative to Foreclosure

Do you qualify to do a short sale in New Haven County Connecticut?

What you need to have in your Short Sale Package.

The process of the Short Sale; what happens next. 

There is quite a bit of misinformation about how much you can buy a short sale for. There are those that are watching late night TV shows about buying real estate at 50 cents on the dollar and with no money down.

MYTH #1- The lenders are so desperate they will accept any low offer that is offered on a short sale.

TRUTH- The lenders would rather work out solution that is workable with the homeowner. Most use a formula to determine their loss and what the actual net proceeds they will accept at a short sale closing.

MYTH #2- The lenders are just waiting to get your low ball offer!

TRUTH- Lenders have a policy to follow.  The policy is that the listing agent submits the short sale package from the seller along with the buyer’s short sale offer and package. The lender will then order a BPO   The BPO is not an appraisal.  It is a Broker’s Price Opinion.  The BPO usually comes back in 7 to 10 days. The lender pays for the services of an agent to go out and do this Broker's price opinion.

The value that the agent gives to the lender in this BPO will be the amount they begin negotiation with.  Once the BPO is returned they work their formula and send us a statement telling us what they will need to net. The lender usually will accept about 5% to 15% below the BPO for an accepted offer.

MYTH #3- You can offer 30 cents to 50 cents on the dollar of what the listed price is.

TRUTH- The lender will take a small discount off of the value of the BPO usually right below market value.

The starting point in the negotiations on a short sale offer is not the list price. You must check to see how much the owner owes to the lender by pulling up the tax rolls. If a Lis Pendens has been filed and the house is in pre foreclosure you will also have to take into consideration that there are other bills they most likely have not paid for that affect the sale of the property.

Those are:

• Second mortgages or home equity lines of credit

• Unpaid Property Taxes

• Unpaid HOA fees

• Title insurance

• Real Estate Agents' fees

• Related attorney's collection fees

All of these fees will have to be paid at the closing. Most likely the seller is not going to have all that money to bring to the table at closing. These figures are submitted to the lender because the lender will choose which closing fees they will approve and how much they will consider these fees to be reduced.

Once you determine how much the seller owes on their property you will have some idea as to how to structure your offer.

You must look at what is owed to the bank versus what the market value is; the list price. The lender is actually reducing the loan down to the market value which can be a reduction of up to 50% as many markets have dropped that much in the last couple of years.

When making an offer on a short sale you must have a lot of patience.  If you have a specific time frame that you need to be in a house in the near future trying to buy a short sale that is at the very beginning of the process and a BPO has not yet been done on the property then most likely would not be in your best interests to pursue the offer.

Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Disclosure

RE/MAX Alliance is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.  If you stop paying your mortgage, you could lose your home and damage your credit rating.  RE/MAX Alliance is not engaged in the practice of law nor gives legal or tax advice.  It is strongly recommended that you seek appropriate professional legal counsel and tax advice for any real estate transaction.

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Contact Donna Bigda, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, Realtor®, RE/MAX Alliance Licensed Realtor® in the State of Connecticut at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, New Haven and the rest of shoreline area in New Haven County Connecticut.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Branford CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market and now is one of the best times to buy while interest rates remain low. For more information on Branford CT real estate homes or condos, see Branford CT real estate or sign up today to get access the hottest new listings here Branford CT homes and condos. 

Disclaimer:  All information provided by this author is strictly an opinion, is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from several sources, which may or may not be deemed reliable at the time of researching this article and may be time sensitive.

Copyright © 2009 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*Short Sales in Branford Connecticut and New Haven County – Myths and Truths About Short Sale Offers - Part 5*