Archive for the ‘Stats and Trends’ Category

Nowadays, many buyers are interested in purchasing "distressed" properties hoping to get a great deal.  My definition of a "distressed" property is a property where the owner has fallen behind on their payments to either their mortgage company or the homeowners association and a lien has been filed with the courts, initiating foreclosure proceedings.

Of the properties available on the market, short sales are those that are in the earliest stage of distress or "pre-foreclosure".  In a short sale, the property owner is behind on their mortgage payment and wants to sell the property, but can't find a buyer willing to pay enough money for the property to cover the remaining principal on the mortgage.  The property owner then asks their lender if it is willing to accept less than what is owed on the mortgage.Short sales can take months to complete as lenders try to figure out how big of a loss they are willing to take.  In some cases, even after months of analysis, a lender may decide it doesn't want to do one at all.