About US
Meet Chris & Amber Lawrence, the “Short Sale Guy” & “Short Sale Wife”. They have been married for over 20 years and have 6 children (I know, crazy). Chris has been a real estate broker for 20 years and is licensed as a broker in 32 states.
Our passion is to educate homeowners on their available options to avoid foreclosure (and possibly sell their home as a short sale). We faced foreclosure ourselves in 2008 and vividly remember the pain. From that experience we understand the importance of homeowners having an advocate on their side.
We count it an honor to explain your options and answer any questions (even if it does not result in us selling your home). Since 2004 our mission is:
1) Be a resource in our community to explain options
2) Operate with integrity & kindness
3) Glorify God in all that we do
We truly want to be your trusted resource.
What Are My Options?
Short Sale
A short sale is one of the best options for mortgagers who do not have equity in their home. With a short sale, the lender will allow the mortgager to sell their home for less than what they owe on the mortgage. Most lenders will stop the foreclosure once a qualified real estate agent reaches out to the lender letting them know they are placing the subject property on the market (for an amount less than is owed). Short sales can be a great option because most of the time it is far less damaging to credit then foreclosure or bankruptcy, you can receive relocation assistance upon closing, and you can usually purchase a new home much sooner than if you were foreclosed or filed for bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a popular option to stop foreclosure. It generally stops foreclosure and allows the mortgager to stay in their home. The challenge is that many times after the mortgagers debt is reorganized, the mortgager still ends up defaulting on the bankruptcy agreement (since their financial situation has not yet changed), which then just further complicates the mortgagers credit report & financial situation (short and long term). Statistics show roughly 2 out of 3 persons fail on their chapter 13 bankruptcy agreement.
Loan Modification
A loan modification is a great option to stop foreclosure. In todays political climate, banks and mortgage lenders are more than willing to do loan modifications to help mortgager avoid foreclosure. A loan modification can atler the terms of your mortgage to make it more affordable and/or to help you with the past due balance on your mortgage.
Loan Forbearance
A loan forbearance is another great option to stop foreclosure. A loan forbearance is a temporary suspension of your mortgage payments to allow you to time to recover from the temporary setback. Some mortgage lenders will want you to repay those payments over several months to several years once the forbearance ends. Other lenders will actually place the suspended mortgage payments at the end of the loan. Also, as a side note, ask the lender to freeze the credit reporting while you are on the forbearance so that it does not negatively affect your credit score.
Deed In Lieu
A deed in lieu of foreclosure is where the mortgager deeds their property back to the bank. Basically you are giving the home back to the bank to avoid foreclosure. Obviously you would only do this if you do not have equity in your home. Also, it is difficult to do if there is more than one mortgage on your home. I do not generally like this option because you could short sale your home instead and take advantage of relocation assistance (which is less likely when doing a deed in lieu).
Benefits Of A Short Sale
Short sales are an incredible way to recover from financial hardships. Having done a short sale myself many years ago, I can now see how it was a catalyst for recovery. There are 5 main benefits to doing a short sale.
Stop Foreclosure
Most of the time your lender will halt the foreclosure sale once an executed contract is submitted to them. Timing does matter since some lenders will not look at the contract if it is not submitted to them within their prescribed timeframes.
Relocation Assistance
Banks & mortgage lenders do not want to foreclose on your home. For some that is hard to believe since the communication can be so bad many times during foreclosure proceedings. But the truth is that banks lose thousands upon thousands of dollars when they foreclose on you. The reason is that they have to pay very high attorney / legal fees, valuation reports, preserving & maintaining the property (once vacant) until it is sold, realtor commissions / closing cost, repair any damage to property, possible eviction cost, and of course holding time from from date of foreclosure until sold.
Since banks/mortgage lenders do not want to pay these high fees, it makes much more sense for them to allow you to “short sale” your home. To incentivize this, most of the time they will offer you thousands of dollars to relocate to a new home. How much they offer many times depends on the loan amount and other factors we are not privy to.
Impact to Credit
Many have believed that a short sale is far less damaging to your credit report than a foreclosure. Though your credit score may be the least of your concerns today, you will find that as time passes and you recover from this financially challenging time in your life, it will mean more to you later. You see, a foreclosure sale will stay on your credit report for 7 years. That means that assuming you recover in the next 1-3 years, you will still have to deal with the blemish of foreclosure for many years thereafter. On the other hand, although a short sale will also stay on your credit for seven years, most believe it has far less of a negative impact on your credit score and future lenders may love to see that you took action and did the best that you could to resolve your delinquent mortgage.
Purchase another Home (2-3 years)
This one takes many people by surprise but there are some lenders that will consider offering you another mortgage as soon as two years after your short sale.
Your in Control
Another positive for doing a short sale is that you are in control of when you leave your home. You see, with a foreclosure you do not receive much advance notice that you are being locked out of your home. Trust me, having also sold REO properties for banks for many years, it can be very humiliating for a family to be locked out and have the police moving your personal items to the curb. With a short sale, you not only will have many weeks advance notice of your move out date, but you should also be receiving relocation assistance from the bank/mortgage lender.
FAQ
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SHORT SALE AND FORECLOSURE?
A short sale transaction occurs when mortgage lenders allow the borrower to sell the house for less than the amount owed on the mortgage. The foreclosure process occurs when lenders repossess the house, often against an owner’s will.
WHAT DOES IT COST FOR YOUR HELP?
Your mortgage company pays us to represent you.
WILL I OWE ANYTHING AFTER THE SHORT SALE?
We will make sure the lender puts in writing that your debt is settled after the short sale. This means you will have no further financial obligations to worry about once the home is sold.
WILL I RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE SHORT SALE?
Most of our clients qualify for relocation assistance from the bank. The amount we’re able to negotiate for ranges from $1,500 to $10,000. We have seen as much as $25,000 though this is more rare.
HOW WILL A SHORT SALE AFFECT MY CREDIT?
It depends on many things, including late or missed payments. A short sale may appear on your credit report as “ settlement or pre-foreclosure redemption,” “paid in full for less than full balance” or other terms.
*Missing mortgage payments will definitely affect your credit rating.
ARE THERE ANY TAX IMPLICATIONS OF A SHORT SALE?
A short sale where the lender forgives (cancels) the debt is a relief of debt. The IRS may treat this as income for tax purposes. A limited exemption allows homeowners to pay no taxes on certain types of debt forgiveness especially if it’s your primary residence. The government has been extending the Mortgage debt forgiveness act since 2007 and we do believe they will keep extending it or create a permanent law for it soon.
HOW LONG DOES A SHORT SALE TAKE?
Every short sale is different, because every homeowner’s situation is different. Our average time frame is 3-4 months.
DO I NEED TO MOVE RIGHT AWAY?
No, you can stay in your home and use this time to find a new place to live. This will actually help with our relocation assistance negotiations, as you may not qualify if you’ve abandoned your property.
We are very proud to have been serving our clients for over 20 years!
