California Short Sales
If a homeowner is having difficulty paying their mortgage and their California home value has gone down below their mortgage amount, they may be considering a short sale. When a seller lists their California home for sale as a short sale, they accept only one offer and submit it to their bank with a short sale package requesting mortgage debt relief. If their lender approves a short sale, they will inform the seller of the minimum net proceeds the bank will take in order to write off the sellers defaulted debt. It is often difficult to reduce the lenders’ short sale approval amount once the lender has made their decision. On loans with mortgage insurance, the lender’s losses are often covered by their insurance up to a certain amount. If a lender accepts a short sale they are likely to not receive a payout from their insurance, so knowing what coverage they have on a loan policy is key when requesting a short sale. If you’re interested in purchasing a California home for sale that is listed as a short sale, know that it can be a lengthy process. Those that wait can often get a better deal than a foreclosure; since the bank only reviews 1 offer versus a foreclosure which may have multiple bids. However, a short sale could take months where a foreclosure sale can be sold within days.