Short Sale Solutions for Western Massachusetts Homeowners

There are no cookie cutter answers to deciding if selling your home as a "Short Sale" is right for you. It really comes down to a personal choice, financially and morally. The majority of the homeowners who we see truly WANT to pay their bills and stay in their homes and feel obligated to the deal (mortgage). Others have silently 'buried their heads" and go off to work, coach little league, or cringe at the ring of the telephone hoping that it will go away. In order to qualify to have short sale APPROVED by your lender, a homeowner must experience a hardship (such as a job loss, divorce or medical emergency) and have run out of financial options to satisfy the debt on the mortgage. In some cases being UNDERWATER or owing a considerable amount more then what the home is currently worth will satisfy a short sale as well.

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In some very rare occassions, the choice to short your home has already been made. The financial institution will issue a NOTICE OF INTENT to begin the foreclosure process in the courts. If this is your case, you could have 30 days or less before judgement to foreclose is made.

Some foreclosure rescue firms use a variety of tactics to find homeowners in distress: Some sift through public foreclosure notices in newspapers and on the Internet or through public files at local government offices, and then send personalized letters to homeowners. Others take a broader approach through ads on the Internet, on television, or in the newspaper, posters on telephone poles, median strips and at bus stops, or flyers or business cards at your front door.

"We guarantee to stop your foreclosure."

The real deal is that scammers are preying on desperate homeowners. The old adage, "if it sounds to good to be true" often applies here, and yet the fear and confusion of internet noise makes it all the more difficult for distressed homeowners receive real assistance before it is too late. Some companies claim that nearly all their customers get successful results and even offer a money-back guarantee. Others say they're affiliated with the government or your lender and still others promise the help of attorneys or real estate experts, for an UPFRONT FEE.

Many of these companies leave their homeowner customers in worse financial shape.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has a Rule in place to protect homeowners. The Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) rule makes it illegal for companies to collect any fees until a homeowner has actually received an offer of relief from his or her lender and accepted it.

Center Exchange Associates provides alternative solutions to distressed homeowners who are in real danger of bank foreclosure by enlisting our Short Sale Negotiation Services throughout Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.

What sets us apart?

Center Exchange Associates has broker relationships with ACTION REALTY GROUP headquarted in Orange, Massachusetts. The professional team at Center Exchange Associates utilizes a network of real estate attorneys, paralegals, and licensed general contractors to get results for our clients seeking Short Sales.

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8 Basic Steps To Submit A Short Sale Package



1. NEED TIME (Sounds simple) but the real deal is IF there is too short of a window, the chances of APPROVAL significantly decreases.

2.Make an appointment to allow us to prepare a Property Valuation, to determine if a Short Sale is a viable solution to your situation. The report will indicate if the amount owed will support a sale specific to your current market location.

For example: Puchased Price $200,000 and currently owe around $175,000 and similar homes have not sold for higher then $155,000 then maybe a Short Sale is an option.

3. Gather Documents. The name of this game is paperwork. Banks have built a damaging reputation of shuffling homeowners finacial documents, in what some insiders state is a way to frustrate or delay decision making. The Short Sale specialist will need you to provide a financial picture of your situation with items such as; recent paystubs, 2 years of tax returns, bank statements, employment history, self employed earnings, monthly bills, house, auto, insurance, even laundry to entertainment to show a budget workout to the bank. Be prepared to submit as much as needed through entire process.

4. Sign a Letter of Authorization which every lender or creditors requires third party approval authorization to initiate a point of contact. Every individual lender will have specific paperwork or criteria for submission.

5. Write A Hardship Letter with the help of your Short Sale Consultant. This letter lays out your case as to why it is in the lender's best interest to accept a Short Sale as an alternative to bank foreclosure based on your local housing market, ability to pay, and loss of revenues.

6.Get It Under Contract with a proper purchase and sales agreement that makes financial sense to your lender. Remember every situation is unique. Some properties will require the property to be completely vacated by owner or tenants (often a DEAL BREAKER), able to transfer clean title and local housing requirements. Coordination with all parties in crucial, the buyer's realtor, attorney, lender's loss mitigation team, and seller's attorney.

7. STAY IN CONTACT & KEEP TRACK OF ALL LEGAL NOTICES as often lenders have TWO wheels in motion at the same time (foreclosure) and review of the Short Sale option.

8. Negotiate! Negotiate! Negotiate! Not every sale just has a 1st mortgage to deal with. Some homeowners have 2nd mortgages or credit judgements attached to the property that also must agree to settle in order for the Short Sale to complete.