DealFiles Success!

Short selling is nothing more complicated than buying a property that is in or near foreclosure for less than the balance owed. A story will help to illustrate.

Let’s say you come across a “For Sale By Owner” ad in your local paper and you call the seller, who tells you that he is facing the threat of foreclosure and needs to sell immediately. With a little gentle probing you find out that the house is worth about $150,000, and Mr. Seller owes $155,000. Obviously, not a possible deal using normal purchase methods.

Ah but you, being the savvy short sale expert you are, ask Mr. seller if you can contact his lender. You call the lender and, after several calls, finally reach someone who has the authority to discuss short sale possibilities. You make an offer well under what Mr. Seller owes.

The lender, pretending to be outraged by your low offer, counters with an offer of their own. Following a little bobbing and weaving (otherwise known as “negotiating”) you agree to purchase the property for $120,000, which the lender agrees to accept as full payment, thus releasing Mr. Seller from any further obligation.

This is an overly simplified description of the short sale process. I did it this way only to properly explain what a short sale is. Obviously, to be successful you will need to understand the process in detail. Thankfully, this is very simple to learn. With a little effort, and just a little bit of good luck, by this time next week you could have your first short sale deal.

There is an excellent resource available at Short Sale Deals.