I am really excited to have interviewed a friend of mine, Patrick Nahass, President of All American Finance.  Patrick works everyday to help relieve his clients of their credit card debt.

In this interview, he reveals

• Options for credit card debt
• The secret to why credit card settlement is a great solution
• Why bankruptcy is much worse than credit settlement
• And why many consumers don’t qualify for bankruptcy
• The effect of credit settlement on your CREDIT

His knowledge allows him to settle many clients credit card debt for pennies on the dollar.

Meet Patrick Nahass- See if Credit Settlement is right for you:   Consumer Credit Card Services

PATRICK NAHASS
ALL AMERICAN FINANCE
800-385-6505

Discover all the answers to the Short Sale frequently asked questions!  Charlie Allred, Designated broker for Secure Real Estate explains in detail the most commonly asked Short Sale Questions.

Including:

• What is a short sale
• The Short Sale Process
• Short Sale Tax consequences
• Short Sale Legal consequences
• Benefits of a Short Sale
• Discover how you can live for free during the short sale process

Most of my articles come directly from clients.  I know short sales, so sometimes I forget what a potential client doesn’t know yet.

A client asked me “How do I start my Short Sale”?

My Answer: You make an appointment with Secure Real Estate.

However, the answer is a little longer.

First- Make sure a short sale is your best option.  We offer a free phone consultation.  The phone consult takes 5-10 minutes.  We have an assessment to determine if you are a good candidate for a short sale.  If you are not- we refer to a non-profit HUD approved counseling group for other options.

Second- Once we determine a short sale is your best option, we set an appointment.  In this first appointment we will answer any questions, complete all listing paperwork to put your house on the market for sale, take photos and install the lock box.

Third- We look for a buyer.  The home is actively listed on the MLS- and is for sale.

I go into further details on the Short Sale Process in other articles.  I want this article to be on the beginning of a short sale.  The beginning is always the scariest, it is the unknown.

What to expect when you call Secure Real Estate:

A short sale is when you sell your house for less than you owe, your lender is asked to forgive the deficiency between what you owe and the sales price.

Example:

Purchased house for $150,000

House is worth $100,000

Sell your house for $100,000

Can you imagine selling your house for the $100,000 and still owing $50,000 to your lender, once you move out of the house? 

This could happen if your Short Sale is not negotiated to “waive the deficiency amount”.

There is a $50,000 difference between what you owe to your Lender and the sales price.  We, at Secure Real Estate, negotiate with your Lender to forgive the difference or deficiency amount.  So you, the homeowner, can walk away from the home owing nothing.

What are the steps for a short sale Seller?

1. Decide you no longer can or want to continue to pay for your home that is worth less than you owe
2. Contact SRE to evaluate if a short sale is your best option (based on type of loan you have and tax consequences)- SRE SHORT SALE ASSESSMENT
3. List your home for sale with SRE- Home is for sale on the MLS for buyers and Realtors to see
4. Find a buyer- a buyer submits a purchase contract and you accept (this is when the short sale process begins)
5. SRE negotiates the short sale with your Lender
6. Your Lender issues an approval letter-  You review the approval terms (once you approve the approval terms, the sale begins like a traditional real estate transaction)
7. Buyer proceeds with their inspection & appraisal
8. Home closes- Short Sale is completed

In my experience, the toughest step is deciding you don’t want to keep paying for your home or cannot continue to pay for your home.  The hard part is realizing that it isn’t the great financial decision you originally thought it would be.

We all wish we could go back and change certain life decisions, however, we cannot.  The most common comment we get from our clients once they complete a successful short sale is “we wish we would have called sooner”.

Check out this video of real Short Sale Sellers.

In a new program sponsored by the Arizona Department of Housing, a Short Sale Seller in Arizona can receive up to $4,500 upon the completion of a successful Arizona Short Sale.  Watch this video with Tim & Kim Hensley of Genesis Housing Services- a HUD approved housing agency.  They offer free counseling to homeowners as a non-profit organization located in Gilbert, AZ.

Arizona Department of Housing

Last week, we were talking to one of our clients.  He was explaining how he felt about deciding to complete a short sale.

He said: “I must do a short sale, I cannot foreclose because I will be a loser and my family will leave me.”

This may seem a bit dramatic and pretty far fetched, this is the way all of our clients feel, whether or not they say it.  Everyone wants to be a successful person and support their family.  We all feel a sense of responsibility to complete our obligations

Have you ever wondered:

• What will I do with this house?
• Will our house value ever bounce back?
• How will I afford this house? 
• How will I afford other necessities if I keep paying for this house?

These are all common fears- the UNKNOWN! A short sale may be an option!  There are a couple of options to avoid foreclosure- if you want to keep your home, try a loan modification.  If you want to stop having to pay for your home, contact SRE Today for a free assessment, to see if a short sale is for you!

See the difference between a Short Sale & Foreclosure

I am so privileged to have this valuable conversation with our clients, Mike & Janae about their short sale experience. Hear what actual Short Sale Sellers have to say about their successful short sale with Secure Real Estate.

I work with Realtors all day long, most Realtors dislike any additional work, thus dislike short sales.  Short sales require a good deal of paperwork.  The Lender is disqualifying the Seller for the home mortage loan.  Most Realtors have been selling homes for 10+ years and the extra steps in a short sale are a hassle to them.

At SRE, we LOVE short sales because we are knowledgable and experienced in Short Sales.  We are also not afraid of a little work!

I personally like a challenge.  I like to take on clients that other Realtors won’t because it will be a tough short sale.  Some lenders are more challenging and some Sellers situations are not “Hard” hardships.  I don’t mind a “soft” hardship.  There is always some hardship or a homeowner wouldn’t want to be relieved from the burden of their home.

Recently, we had a client who owned several homes- this client had never lived in these homes, she is technically an investor.  She was choosing to short sell a couple of homes because she was having trouble keeping them rented and this was causing their family some emotional hardship.

Of 2 homes- 2 different lenders, we were able to get 1 approved and completed.  Other Realtors would say “you worked so hard and couldn’t get both approved, why would you do this?”

My answer: There are no guarantees in life, even “easy” short sales sometimes don’t happen, so why not give the Seller the best chance possible to have the short sale approved.  I know we are the best at Short Sales, the Seller deserves the best.

Of course every homeowner wants to save their credit and avoid foreclosure if possible.  So what are the top reasons to complete a short sale?

Top 7 Reasons to complete a short sale:

1. Missed payments, no plan to catch up
2. In foreclosure- you have an auction date
3. Can no longer afford the home
4. No desire to keep paying for a house underwater (my recommendation is to think of how many years it will take to recover if the market gains 3-5% per year)
5. You have a 2nd Mortgage- many 2nd mortgages are not forgiven in a foreclosure (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT)
6. Investment properties- in foreclosure there may be a larger tax consequence
7. Avoid Foreclosure- save your credit

Top 2 Reasons to allow the home to Foreclose:

1. A short sale is negotiated- Lender won’t forgive the debt
2. A short sale is negotiated- Lender wants a considerable amount of cash from the Seller

Contact us today to discuss your situation with no obligation free of charge!

Once you have chosen to sell your home through a short sale to create a better financial situation for your family, the next concern is “what will happen after the short sale?”.

Once the Short sale is completed successfully, the home sells.  So the Seller must have a place to move his/ her family.  Most homeowners rent a home.  We at Secure Real Estate have a rental specialist to help our clients.  Sometimes our clients find their own rental home using craigslist as well, our goal is that our clients have a place to move that they love!

Next, the Seller generally feels a sense of relief!  It seems most Short Sale Sellers don’t realize they will have the feeling of a weight lifted off their shoulders until the Short Sale is actually completed.  This is my favorite part of our job, to help our clients feel like they are moving their lives forward.

We advise our clients to start monitoring their credit score.  You can receive 1 free credit report from all 3 credit bureaus, once a year.  I advise to space the three bureaus to every 4 months.  The credit score will begin to improve almost immediately after a short sale.

We have a diligent client that checks his report monthly (he pays for this) and reports back to us, after 6 months since his Short Sale his score was 700+.  This is pretty exciting!

Lastly, after you complete a short sale, in most cases you can purchase a home in 2 years.  So the goal is to find a rental home to stay for 2 years.  In 2 years, the housing prices will still be relatively low, so it will still be a great time to purchase a home.

For any other Short Sale Questions, check our our Short Sale Page.