There was an article in the LA times on how to do a short sale on your house. Hopefully this info is correct and hopefully the short sellers will read it. I still see a lot of short sales listed for way more than the nearby REO's.......
Here's a part of the article,
More than a few financially strapped owners have tried to unload their homes through what's known as a short sale, only to end up stymied by what most believe to be an uncooperative lender.
Truth be told, though, lenders are so swamped these days by underwater borrowers who need permission to sell their homes for less than what they owe that they give most short shrift. But there are ways to get your lender's attention.
For starters, align yourself with an agent who has experience with short sales. Most don't, according to Stacy and Michael Spickes, a husband-and-wife realty team who operate America's Home Rescue, an Austin, Texas, firm that has handled about 250 short sales over the last six years.
"Ninety-five percent of all agents don't know how to do these transactions," Stacy Spickes says. (I will vouch for that!)
Look for an agent who has established alliances with loss-mitigation staff at various institutions, if not your particular one, and can offer references of previous clients who have completed short sales.
Beyond that, here's the step-by-step short-sale process the Spickeses have created to increase your chances of getting your lender to say yes:
* Criteria: To qualify, you must be behind on payments, have a legitimate hardship and have little or no equity in the property, generally 8% or less.
Your hardship must be genuine, but lenders these days are fairly lenient, according to the Spickeses. It used to be that only a death, medical emergency, divorce or job loss qualified.
But now, if your mortgage payment or even your property taxes rise beyond your ability to pay, lenders are typically agreeable to a short sale.
However, before deciding, lenders will want to see a financial work sheet listing all your bank accounts, real estate owned and other assets.
If you have enough cash on hand or assets that can be sold, lenders will demand that you make up the difference between what the house sells for and what you owe. (Yup they are gonna make you sell your Hummer!)
The article goes into a fair amount of detail in what is expected and what you need to do. It's a pretty good read and most short sellers would be well advised to give it once over. I'm so tired of looking at short listings that obviously have no chance of selling.