Miami Short Sale Lawyer
As of this writing, Florida has one of the highest percentages of foreclosures per housing unit in the nation, at roughly 30 percent higher than the national average. This can put a strain not only on the homeowner, but also on the court dockets and on banks having to handle each individual case. As such, banks and other lenders are generally receptive to a homeowner wishing to make some kind of deal to wipe the debt away. A short sale is one of the more common agreed-upon methods.
What Is A Short Sale?
A short sale is called such because selling it will fall short of the amount owed on the property. For example, if a home is mortgaged at $220,000, selling it for $170,000 will constitute a short sale. Normally, selling a home for less than what is owed will result in what Florida law calls a deficiency judgment- a money judgment against you issued by a court for the remainder. This would normally discourage underwater homeowners from selling their houses, because they would still be on the proverbial hook for the remainder of what was owed.
A short sale is when someone sells their home for less than what is owed after reaching an agreement with their bank or lender to waive the remainder of the deficiency judgment. This technically avoids foreclosure, because in a true foreclosure no agreement can be made, but the bank still winds up with the property. The difference is that the agreement waives the bank’s right to seek a deficiency judgment, which effectively wipes the debt off the homeowner’s ledger.
Not A Cure-All
While a short sale can in many ways be the answer to a homeowner’s problems, it is important to understand that it is not an automatic deal. A bank may determine that despite your inability to make payments, your finances are strong enough where a short sale would place them on the proverbial losing end – in such a case, filing Chapter 13 may be a better suggestion, since you can reorganize debt. You must be able to show your bank that your financial picture is dismal enough that a short sale will give them the best possible return on their investment.
It is also important for you to grasp that while a short sale is nowhere near as bad a mark on your credit report as a foreclosure, your credit report will still almost certainly be impacted poorly. Still, in many cases it is worth going through a short sale when the alternative is to keep pouring money into a property that you may never succeed at freeing from its underwater mortgage.
Enlist Our Experienced Miami Short Sale Lawyers Today
While it can be frightening to go through a foreclosure or a short sale, it can be markedly less so when you have a knowledgeable attorney on your side. The Miami short sale lawyers at Nowack & Olson, PLLC are ready, willing and able to try and answer your questions about where to go from here. Call our offices today to set up an appointment.
