You don't have to face this alone...

We had some more training recently on doing short sales, which I seem to be hitting quite a bit these days; and it occurred to me that too many people face these tough situations alone. They are unwilling to share their situation with someone who could help or maybe just unaware that they can get that help before it's too late. So let me be clear about this - you don't have to face the prospect of losing your home alone. I can help.

It may well be that your situation is such that you qualify for one of the "work out programs", such as the Federal program Hope for Homeowners; or maybe your bank itself has a work out program. The key thing is to try. For more on that program, go to my Web site - The Milford Team and look under the Sellers choices in the left hand column. If you've missed a mortgage payment you are technically already in default, so don't wait until you start getting notices from the bank - call them now and ask to speak with someone who can discuss a work out program for your loan.

If that doesn't work and there doesn't seem to be any way that you can continue to make ends meet and get back up to date with your mortgage, then call me and let me help you understand your options. There are a couple of old sayings that are at work here - "Ignorance is Bliss" and "Knowledge is Power." In this case, ignorance isn't really bliss. Ignorance about the options available to you just leads to fear, uncertainty and doubt. what you need to cope with the situation that you find yourself in is honesty with yourself and others about the situation, knowledge about your options, a plan of action based upon those options and someone you can trust to help guide you through the process.

The biggest single deterrent to getting out of the financial messes that people find themselves in these days is denial that they have a problem and need some help. That denial can take many forms and would likely be a good blog topic all by itself; however, let's just take the Dr. Phil short-cut and say, "get over it and deal with it - you need help." Rather than wallow in self-pity and fear, let's move on to focusing upon what you can do now.

If you have just reached that point where you can no longer keep up the payments on your mortgage and perhaps you have called your bank and they don't have a workout program, your next step may be to see if your bank would accept a short sale of your home. Notice, right away, that you need to be at the point for this step where you have accepted that you cannot keep the house. Hoping and wishing for something to somehow happen that will prevent the loss of the house is not taking action, it is denying that there is a problem. Move on!

So, what is a short sale and why is that a good option? A short sale is the sale of your house for less than you owe the bank, with the bank's acceptance and approval. The very best outcome of this process would be that the bank accepts what the market will currently pay for your house and forgives the remaining balance of the loan. Even a scenario where your bank takes the proceeds from the sale but won't forgive you the balance of the loan is better for your credit rating than going all the way through the foreclosure process or bankruptcy. This is really about your future - your future ability to get another mortgage loan and to get credit for other purposes. A bankruptcy or foreclosure will negatively impact you credit rating far longer than will a short sale. Make no mistake about it, a short sale on your credit report will still have am impact, just less of one than the alternatives.

Now let's be honest here; banks don't like short sales. After all, they have to agree to take a loss on the sale; but, they like foreclosures even less and they make even less if a house goes through that process. So, most banks would prefer to do a short sale, rather than waiting for a foreclosure. That works to your advantage and will help you when negotiating the short sale with the bank. Ahh, that's the part where getting help is important - negotiating the short sale with the bank. That's where having someone who has been trained in the process and who understands what the banks want and need in order to make their decision is critical. That's where I can help.

Call me and I'll sit with you and discuss this option. It's not going to be easy or comfortable for you. It's not going to be fun; but, the alternatives are even more painful. The sooner you call and we get started, the quicker you'll be on your way out of this mess and on to he next stage of your life. Maybe I can help with that, too. After all, you'll need a place to live.