Lakeland Short Sales

Lakeland Foreclosure Epidemic may be saved by Short Sale Remedy

With Polk County’s unemployment rates, this foreclosure epidemic is going to continue and it may even grow. Lakeland Short Sales are at an all time high, there are currently over 400 Lakeland homes for sale that are short sales.

The jobless rate in Polk County is at an all time high since 1992 – 13.6%

The jobless rate in Lakeland-Winter Haven for September is recorded at 12.7%

If you are in a situation where you can’t no longer afford to make your mortgage payments because of job loss, divorce, health, or other hardship; a short sale would be your best remedy to save your home from foreclosure and salvage some of your credit.

I’m a member of over 400 real estate agents and growing at Short Sale Superstars, who are committed to help sellers and buyers with short sales in Florida and across the America. Short sales can be difficult at times and this is why this group of professionals is so helpful not only to us real estate agents, but for you, especially. I would say that we are a Short Sale Agent support group, helping each other, solving uncommon issues for our clients, making suggestions that can only help you the seller or buyer. We are not complainers – we are solvers, here to help you.

There is information about lenders, such as Bank of America aka Countrywide, Wachovia, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, Saxon, and Chase just to name a view. This is a place where agents help, inform and reach out to consumer by providing valuable information to make a short sale a success.

There are over 1,000 Lis Pendens filed within the city of Lakeland Florida alone. Since September 1, 2009, 143 Lis Pendens were filed with the Polk County Clerk of Courts for properties that are located in Lakeland – a city with a population of an estimated 97,000 people.

What is a Lis Pendens?

In essence, a formal notice is filed on behalf of the lender, who holds the note on your mortgage. It is considered a lawsuit; however, the homeowner still has possession and the right to sell the property. Short sales can be your best remedy to a foreclosure.

Give me a call at (863) 619-6918 or email me at petra@petranorris.com to arrange for a confidential consultation – I’m here to help.

Lakeland Short Sales

Added MLS search feature for “Short Sale” and “Bank Owned” homes in Lakeland Florida

Recently, our Mid Florida Regional MLS added this feature when searching for Lakeland real estate that is being categorized as “short sale” and “bank owned”. Surely, it is great feature to have now in how we Realtors® search for our clients in the MLS.

Often times, I get calls from clients and consumer wanting to buy short sales and bank owned homes and I would have to search the remarks sections to see if the listing agents included such category. Now that short sale and bank owned is a new search field, we are able to better serve our clients by getting the data quickly.

Having this added feature will make your search simple and easy. However, if you are looking for a short sale or foreclosure make sure you are working with a Realtor that understands the entire process. The Lakeland real estate market and the real estate market throughout Polk County have many great opportunities for buyers to purchase a short sale or a bank owned property. However, you must be patient – short sales can take from just three month to a very long time to close.

Here is a list of short sales and foreclosures in the Lakeland Florida area. Since this feature has been added just recently, I am sure some of the Lakeland homes have not been updated. If you need help or want me to send you a list for a particular area, just give me a call or email and I’ll send them your way.

Lakeland Short Sales

Lenders are more apt to approve Short Sales for Lakeland Real Estate

Foreclosing on your home is not cheap for the lender and with bank-owned inventory on the rise in the Lakeland real estate market in and around Polk County, FL.  Banks are more inclined to encourage short sales.  First of all, it is very time consuming from the start of a foreclosure to finish, which can take more than a year and the cost of foreclosure is far below their net from taking back to property, maintaining and managing the property.

It is all about the lender’s bottom line!

Banks are also encouraging short sales when there is a 2^nd mortgage or a home equity line of credit with different lenders. It may complicate matters more but both lenders have to be in agreement to facilitate and close a Lakeland short sale. The second lien holder will not allow a zero dollar amount and the first lien holder offers very little to the second lien holder, which may require you to owe a note and pay for some of the loss.

Depending on your situation, the lender may only ask you for a small amount of the deficiency to be paid back and the terms are mostly very favorable. Please take that into consideration when evaluating your situation before, now and after.

Foreclosure should never be your first step solving your crisis.  A loan modification may have helped you short term and now you are perhaps in the same position again having difficulties or are behind on your mortgage payments.   Call me at (863) 619-6918 today for a confidential consultation to do a Lakeland Short Sale or email me directly Petra.Norris@servinglakelandfl.com

Lakeland Short Sales

Having a hard time making your Mortgage Payment?

The very first thing you should do when experiencing difficulty making mortgage payments is to contact your lender immediately should you want to keep your Lakeland home and before asking a Lakeland Real estate agent about a Lakeland Short Sale.  The longer you wait and ignore the fact you are in financial distress the less favorable your lender may work out an option. Depending on your lender and your circumstances, solutions that may help you getting back on track:

• Extending your length of the loan,  thereby reducing to lower payments
• Reduce Interest Rate on Mortgage
• Suspend mortgage payments temporarily
• Missed payments to be piggy-backed on your current loan
• Reducing your current loan amount

Valuable Credit, Foreclosure and Legal Resources to you:

• National Foundation for Credit Counseling 1-800-388-2227
• Making Home Affordable Program see if you can qualify
• Homeownership Preservation Foundation 1-888-995-HOPE
• HUD Approved Housing Counselor Agencies
• with Offices located in Tampa and Orlando
• Department of Veteran Affairs Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida
• Free Florida legal aid – Florida Attorneys team up together to help Floridians facing foreclosure – toll-free hot line (866-607-2187) taking calls from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m

If you have all your option exhausted and facing foreclosure, please give me a call at (863) 619-6918 for a confidential consultation – a Lakeland Short Sale may be your answer after all.

Lakeland Short Sales

How do I Market my Lakeland Short Sales

Sellers facing foreclosure or trying to get their lender approve their Lakeland short sale deserve the same marketing exposure as regular Lakeland Real Estate for sale. Just because there is a for sale sign in the yard and yes,  the home is listed in the Multiple Listing – is this really serving my clients. NO, and here is why!

There are hundreds of Lakeland Short Sale homes for sale. Foreclosure filings are up and when I talk to potential clients, they are in dire need of assistance.

When I’m hired as your Listing Agent handling your Lakeland Short Sale, time is of the essence. The lenders may have filed already a Lis-Pendens, which puts the property already in a pre-foreclosure status.

Pricing your home is the most crucial step to marketing and selling – the comparative market analysis that I will provide is comprehensive and more emphasis is given to recent sales comparables similar to your home that are in distress as well as condition. My price suggestions are based on facts and statistics. Competitive pricing will generate more showings and a faster offer.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – Listing your Lakeland Short Sale in the MLS has all the information it requires plus a whole lot more. From the maximum pictures it can hold, to detailed information about room sizes, school information and style to elaborate description of your home that will entice a prospective buyer. Sellers deserve the Best when it comes selling their home. Likewise, Buyers deserve the Best information true to the home they want to make it their own.

Marketing Short Sales – My Lakeland Short Sale properties have the same marketing exposure as if it would be a regular Lakeland Home for Sale. From virtual tours to blogging, direct mailing, flyers and the magnitude of web sites available to me – all of them will get your Lakeland Short Sale the exposure it deserves.

Communicating with my sellers is one of my top priorities. Handling a short sale on my seller’s behalf requires discipline, negotiation skills, time management, problem solving skills and patience with all parties involved in a Lakeland Short Sale.

If you are experiencing hardship or facing foreclosure, please contact Petra Norris at (863) 619-6918 for a confidential consultation. You may be qualified to do a short sale and save your Lakeland home from foreclosure.

Lakeland Short Sales

Buying a Lakeland Short Sale

There are hundreds of Lakeland homes for sale where owners are trying to get a Short Sale approved by the lender. After searching the internet and gone through these listings perhaps did a drive by of the home you like.  You ready to go out and buy your Lakeland Short Sale – not so fast!

Foremost, you must understand that the seller still owns the home, still has the title to the property, and still has the authority of what offers will be accepted. Remember, the bank does NOT own the property until it is sold on the courthouse steps.

The owner can accept an offer from you, the buyer, but since the offer is lower than what the seller owes on his note/loan it requires third party lender approval to the offer.  Generally, the lender requires the property be sold as-is.

A short sale process requires your patience, therefore when you are looking for Lakeland real estate and you must be moved in by a certain time it’s best to look at homes that are not requiring third party approval.

There are only 2 steps you should follow before buying a Lakeland Short Sale.

1. Hire a Realtor® – an experienced buyer’s agent that represents your interest and has the knowledge to handle a Lakeland Short Sale.
2. Make sure you have been pre-qualified by a local mortgage broker who knows the Short Sale process and follow up with the mortgage approval process your lender requires, unless you are a cash buyer.

Steps to follow when making an offer on a short sale

• Your agent should advise you of the current market condition, price, and condition of the property in preparing you with an offer that the seller accepts and the bank most likely approves
• Your Buyer’s Agent should submit your offer on a FAR/BAR AS IS Offer to Sale or Purchase with the FAR/BAR Short Sale Addendum.
• A nicely hand-written letter explaining why you want to buy this home may help to get third party lender’s approval – depending on your situation.
• Your earnest money deposit should be in place, either in your Realtor’s® Trust Account or submitted to the Title Company when the offer is accepted by the seller.
• Your agent should be in communications with deadlines for inspection, loan approval deadlines and update you as soon as it becomes available from the seller’s listing agent and/or lender.
• Patience – Generally, it will take the lender weeks before the short sale is approved, even if the listing agent states “Short Sale Approved”. Looking at a closing date of at least four month from the time you submit an offer is a good estimate for a closing date.

Contact Petra Norris at (863) 619-6918 or email me at Petra.Norris@lakelandfloridaliving.com if you are looking for a Lakeland Short Sale. To view all Lakeland real estate listed for sale just click the Lakeland Florida Homes Search button below.

Lakeland Short Sales

Lakeland Florida Short Sale – Hiring a Realtor® and not just any Realtor® is a must!

When it comes to Lakeland short sales, hiring a Realtor® is an absolute must, but not just any. I had an epiphany yesterday! Even after all this negative publicity in our housing market about foreclosures and short sales, a lot of Lakeland homeowners still don’t know anything about short sales.

If you are having trouble keeping up with your mortgage payments or already been late, due to loss of jobs, health issues, etc. but more importantly, before you sign a listing agreement with a real estate agent, let me suggest to you, “Who should you NOT hire as your Real Estate Agent?”

Short Sales have become by far the most extensive transaction in real estate that owners, real estate agents, and buyers are faced with. For homeowners, who are in dire need to sell their homes, they do the unthinkable and hire an agent to list the property so they just don’t have to deal with it no more. I am surprised by what reasons were for hiring an agent in the first place.

Follow these simple tips and I know you’ll be better off in the long run:

Don’t hire if…..

1. An agent that tells you that he or she does not want to do short sales.
2. An agent that talks bad about short sales.
3. A relative or friend, who is an agent, but has never done short sales.
4. An agent that doesn’t know what a short sale is.
5. Your neighbor’s friend, who is an agent

Be proactive and instead seek a real estate agent, who can explain the short sale process to you and is experienced, diligent, confident and determined. Hire someone, who cares about you as a person, not just what’s in it for them. It’s that simple!

Copyright © 2009 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved

Lakeland Florida Short Sale – Hiring a Realtor® and not just any Realtor® is a must!

Petra Norris – Realtor®

Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

CDV TransAtlantic, Inc.

P.O. Box 92050 – Lakeland, FL 33804-2050

Telephone (863) 618-6919

Lakeland Short Sales

Lakeland Florida Short Sale Information – What is a Short Sale?

Short Sales in Lakeland, Florida are becoming more and more common in recent months and notably though, a lot of homeowners still don’t have any idea what a short sale is and what are the required documents the lender requires.

First of all you the property owner, the most important thing you must know and understand that you the property owner and seller of your home, you still own your home, you still hold the title to your property, and more importantly you still make the decision of what offers will be accepted or not. Your bank/lender does not own your property.

Your bank/lender may have filed a Lis Pendens and foreclosure proceedings may have begun, but until your property is sold on these local courthouse steps, you the owner are still the person that rightfully and legally owns the home.

What is a short sale?

A short sale is when a lender accepts less than the mortgage balance to avoid a possible foreclosure auction on the court house steps or bankruptcy.

In this case instead of buying the home from the seller, a buyer is purchasing directly from the lender for a discount. The reason for this sale is straightforward, banks do not like surplus inventory and bad loans on their books; therefore if they see an opportunity, where they can sell the property without a great loss, they will approve such a sale. Moreover, banks could lose a lot more money if the property goes to auction as well as additional fees they would have to pay to the court. Taking the discount before the property goes to auction is financially feasible for the banks.

What are the required documents the lender requires?

However, there are documents required by the lender to approve such a short sale.

• Handwritten hardship letter explaining your hardship
• The last 2 years of tax returns for all signers on the mortgage
• The last 2 pay stubs for all signers on the mortgage
• Completed financial statement that your Realtor® received from your lender.
• There are more documents you or your agent will have to put together after an offer is received from a buyer.

What does not constitute a short sale?

If you purchased your home at the height of the market and now your home value have declined does not constitute a short sale.

If you used the home as your ATM machine in which you may have maxed out the equity of your home and are now in debt does not constitute a short sale.

Just because you want to move out of your house and your house is worth less than what you owe your lender does not constitute a short sale.

A short sale is not an escape clause – short sales are only for homeowners that are in dire need for help. It is an option that requires due diligence on my part as your Realtor® and it requires your honesty as the seller.

Copyright © 2009 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved

Lakeland Florida Short Sale Information – What is a Short Sale?

Petra Norris – Realtor®

Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

CDV TransAtlantic, Inc.

P.O. Box 92050 – Lakeland, FL 33804-2050

Telephone (863) 618-6919