Within the past few years, short sales have become a more popular alternative to foreclosures. Why? Put simply, it is an all around better solution. It reduces damage to the homeowner’s credit score, while at the same time eliminating some, if not all, of the debt on a homeowner’s loan.
However, what many homeowners fail to realize is that no one real estate agent can do it alone. A short sale success depends on more than just one factor, it depends on the work of a real estate agent AND an attorney who is familiar with short sale law. While each one has their own separate role, both are equally as important in the short sale process.
When you look at the roles the real estate agent and attorney plays in a short sale, it is actually quite simple. A real estate agent is licensed, so they can list, market, and prepare the property for a potential buyer. They handle the inspections, and do anything else that the property requires.
Yet, even with all this done, real estate agents still need legal advice during the sale. Short sale attorneys handle all the legal aspects. From financial documents to personal hardship letters, to making sure that the client understands the process every step of the way. More importantly, the attorney also gives recommendations to the Realtor as to the list price and required net that the investor/lender must receive.
This is why you must have a real estate agent AND an attorney during every step of a short sale…
What clients sometimes don’t understand is that a short sale is mutually beneficial for the seller, the bank, and all parties involved. Both the attorney and the licensed agent are consistently working together to ensure the closing of a sale. It is perfect collaboration and a perfect symbiotic working relationship to ensure the proper successful closing of a short sale and to protect everyone's legal interests. There are numerous cases of sellers who think they have washed their hands of a mortgage who are now getting sued by their bank for the deficiency. This is precipitating lawsuits against their agents that represented them in the short sale transaction. And worse yet, the agents' professional liability insurance often times excludes any claims arising out of this nature as this is often deemed the "unauthorized practice of law.”
When the agent and the attorney collaborate and work together to protect the seller and to get the lenders and investors to accept less than the amount due on favorable terms and conditions to the seller, the sellers' credit is protected, the buyer gets a good deal, and the bank looses much less in a short sale as opposed to a foreclosure. Often times, the bank loses twice as much in the foreclosure versus a short sale.
If anything, this should teach us that there is no such thing as a “one man job.” Everything involves the work of several people . . . especially short sales!
To learn more, visit www.kayserlawfirm.com
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
To learn more, visit www.kayserlawfirm.com
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
