What To Expect After You Submit A Knoxville Short Sale Proposal
Knoxville short sales are one possible way for Knoxville homeowners to avoid foreclosure on their Knoxville home. Short sales can take a great deal of time and effort. After submitting all of the required documentation and finding the right buyer, what happens? Here are a few things to expect after you submit your short sale proposal on your Knoxville home.
The first option (and most ideal) is that your short sale proposal is accepted. If that is the case, it will be necessary to close on the Knoxville home as soon as possible. Generally, you have 30 days to close, but it is generally better to close sooner rather than later. As soon as you begin a Knoxville short sale, it is generally best to come up with a plan of where you will go once the sale is complete.
The second option is that your lender makes a counteroffer on your Knoxville home. This is the next best option because it at least means the lender is willing to consider the short sale.When your lender counters on the original offer, you can either see if the buyer will approve the new price. Or, if the buyer feels the price is too high, an additional appraisal can be done. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sale Question: Foreclosure Date Is Set, Can I Stop It?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received a question from Ted, “I’m over a year and a half late on my mortgage payment. I’ve tried working with my lender to modify the loan on my Knoxville home, unfortunately, my loan modification was denied. Last week, I received notice on from my lender that an auction date had been set on my Knoxville home. I want to avoid foreclosure on my Knoxville home, but now that I’ve received a foreclosure notice, am I out of options?”
Ted there is a chance that you will be able to stop or stall the foreclosure date set on your Knoxville home. However, it is important that you act fast, since foreclosures in the state of Tennessee can happen very quickly.
My advice to you would be to contact a Knoxville short sale specialist as soon as possible. A Knoxville short sale agent will be able to help explain your options. If you do opt to try and get a short sale started on your Knoxville home, it is important that you get your lender everything they require to get the short sale process started. An experienced agent will know what they require to get the process started. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sales – 3 Essential Traits Of Every Short Sale Buyer
Knoxville short sales are complicated transactions. For many buyers, Knoxville short sales can be a great buy; however, they are not for every buyer. They require a great deal of patience and knowledge of the process. Buyers who lack a thorough understanding of the process can be detrimental to the short sale process, since without a solid buyer, a lender is unlikely to approve the sale. Here is 3 essential traits every buyer must have.
Most importantly, a solid buyer must have a source of funds to purchase the property. This is one critical thing that every lender will look at when approving a short sale offer. This is either proven through a pre-approval or pre-qualification letter, or through showing proof of funds if paying cash. The seller’s lender is wanting to see that the buyer not have any issues purchasing the property.
Secondly, it is important that the buyer purchasing the Knoxville short sales has the time and patience for the short sale to be successfully negotiated. Short sales can take any where from 4 to 6 months or more to be completed. Buyers who get antsy and are pressed for time often are not good buyers for short sales. While the transaction is being negotiated, buyers are at the mercy of the lenders. Short sales can be a great buy, they just take time to complete. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Foreclosure Question: My Short Sale Was Denied, Now What?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received a question from Kim, “I feel like I’ve exhausted all my options to avoid foreclosure on my Knoxville home. I first tried a loan modification, then a short sale, all of which have been denied. I’ve heard how bad a foreclosure can be for my credit it. Do I have any other options since my loan mod and short sale were denied?”
Kim, you still have options. It can be extremely frustrating to go through all the work and effort to do a short sale, only to have it denied. Some short sales get approved, while others don’t, and sometimes there seems like there is no rhyme or reason in the logic.
You may want to consider talking to your lender about doing a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure is where a Knoxville homeowner deeds their home back to the lender, who will in return release the homeowner from their mortgage. A deed-in-lieu of foreclosure will not do as much damage to your credit as a short sale.
Fannie Mae actually recently announced some new deed-in-lieu of foreclosure guidelines, that went into effect on March 1st. Under the new guidelines, homeowners have the option to vacate their home immediately, stay rent free for three months, or stay for twelve months while paying market rent. In order to be eligible, Knoxville homeowners must be at least 90 days behind on mortgage payments and the homeowner must have experienced some kind of hardship, which must be well documented, through financial statements and monthly bills. Homeowners who are current on their mortgage may qualify as well if there has been a death experienced in the family or if there has been an illness in the family. Active military service members will qualify as well if they have experienced a permanent change of station. Read the rest of this entry »
HARP 2.0 Gets Extended – Will It Help Underwater Knoxville Homeowners?
In Knoxville, and many place across country, there are many homeowners who owe more on their home than it is currently worth. While not all of these homeowners are facing foreclosure, many homeowners, who are current on their mortgage, are still underwater. A little over a year ago, the Home Affordable Refinance Program [dubbed HARP 2.0] was revamped in hopes of helping underwater homeowners. HARP 2.0 was set to expire at the end of the year, but has now been extended through 2015, giving more Knoxville homeowners time to refinance their mortgage, if necessary.
In 2009, the Homeowner’s Affordable Refinance Program [HARP] was released to help people in this who were current on their mortgage, but owed more on their home that it was worth. While the program had good intentions, it only help about 1 million borrowers due to high costs for lenders and borrowers and complicated restrictions. Since being revamped, HARP 2.0 has helped over 2 million Americans, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The program, however, has not been nearly as successful as originally anticipated. With the extension of the program, the government plans to make more information easily available to homeowners.
With HARP 2.0, many of the hurdles that borrowers faced with the existing HARP program have been removed. Knoxville homeowners who owe more on their home than it is worth, will now be able to refinance with a fixed rate mortgage, with no loan-to-value restrictions. Also, borrowers will no longer have to wait if they have faced foreclosure in the past 7 years. And in most cases, borrowers will no be required to have an appraisal. Read the rest of this entry »
Deed-In-Lieu Of Forclosure – 3 Things You Need To Know
For Knoxville homeowners facing foreclosure, a Knoxville short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure tend to be the most common options to avoid foreclosure. If a short sale doesn’t work out, most homeowners tend to turn to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure as a last effort to avoid foreclosure. Fannie Mae recently announced new guidelines for the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure program. If you’re considering doing a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, here are three things you should know.
First, under the new deed-of-lieu of foreclosure program, homeowners have options as to how long they are able to stay in the home. Homeowners have the option to vacate the house immediately, stay for three months without rent, or to stay for a year in the home and pay market rent. These options give homeowners a choice as to what will best fit their needs after completing a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Some homeowners are ready to vacate immediately, while others need a little time to get back on their feet. Previously, if a homeowner completed a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, they would have to vacate immediately. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Reasons To Do A Knoxville Short Sale This Year
Many have dubbed 2013 as the “Year of The Short Sale.” With many guideline changes (for the better) and many incentive programs still in place, this is a good time to consider a short sale, if you are facing foreclosure on your Knoxville home. Still not convinced? Here are 3 reason why you should do a Knoxville short sale this year.
#1 – The Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act Was Extended Through 2013.
Under the act, any borrower who sold their Knoxville home in a short sale, modified their loan, or went into foreclosure, is not required to pay taxes on that forgiven income. The rule applies to up to $1 million for those filing his/her taxes as an individual and up to $2 million for those filing their taxes jointly. Also, the act only applies to homes that are considered to be a primary residence, where the owner has live for the past three out of five years.
#2 – New Guidelines Have Been Implemented To Make Short Sales Easier.
New guidelines have been implemented on all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac short sales. These guidelines are supposed to help streamline the process with a streamlined process and more rules to hold lenders accountable. Agents are now able to escalate files themselves if they don’t feel they’re getting anywhere with the lender. In addition, in cases of well documented hardship, homeowners have less paperwork to fill out. Finally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are willing to waive their right for a deficiency judgement in all approved short sales. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Foreclosure Question: When Can I Buy A Home Again?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received a question from Tim, he asks, “I lost my Knoxville home to foreclosure about a year ago. I’d lost my job and had some medical bills that I needed to pay off. I’m renting an apartment now, but am sick of the rental life. Considering my situation, is there any chance I could secure financing to buy a home soon? I know there is a waiting period to buy a home after foreclosure, but when can I buy a home a home again?”
Losing your Knoxville home to foreclosure is a difficult situation. Many different hardship situations have caused many homeowners to lost their home to foreclosure. The amount of the waiting period varies depending what your foreclosure situation was. Fannie Mae, the federal corporation that purchase most mortgages, has specific waiting periods depending on your situation.
The longest waiting period after going through foreclosure is seven years. The seven year waiting period applies to those Knoxville homeowners who do not have documented hardship for why they went through foreclosure. If you have experienced some type of hardship, the waiting period is about three years. In order to qualify for this, you’ll have to show “extenuating circumstances” that made it difficult to keep paying your mortgage. you’ll need to prove this through financial documentation, divorce decrees, medical bills, or whatever made paying your mortgage difficult. In some rare cases, lenders to do not sell their mortgages to Fannie Mae, if that is the case you may be able to qualify immediately after foreclosure if you can meet their requirements. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Loan Modifications – FHFA Announce New Streamlined Process
For many Knoxville homeowner facing foreclosure on their Knoxville home, a loan modification is often the first thing homeowners try. Unfortunately, in the past, Knoxville loan modifications have been plagued with issues. Hopefully, that is all about to change. At the end of March, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced an new streamlined loan modification program for all loans owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The new streamlined loan modification program was started to help the process be easier for borrowers who are behind on their mortgage payments and to prevent foreclosures from happening. The program goes into effect on July 1, 2013 and ends on August 1, 2015. At that time, all loan servicers will be required to offer a loan modifications to all borrowers who are 90 days or more behind on their payments. The new modification process will allow less documentation than in the past, borrowers will no longer have to show financial or hardship documentations in order to be approved. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sale Question: Renters Trashed My Home. What Should I Do?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received a question from Charlotte, she asks, “After losing our jobs in Knoxville, my husband and I relocated to Charlotte. We were unable to sell our house, so we found someone to rent it out. After awhile, they stopped making payments and moved out. While living in our Knoxville home, they trashed our house, which would make it more difficult to sell now. Should we do a short sale on our Knoxville home?”
Charlotte, you’re in a very difficult situation. You could try to make the necessary repairs and find another renter. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that it would not happen again or that you would find a renter who will cover the costs of keeping the home.
The biggest thing you need to consider is the cost of keeping the home and if it is worth it in the long run to you. Are you still able to continue making payments on the home? Or, are you struggling to make you payments? In the long run, would you like to keep the home or would you rather get rid of it? Finally, would you be able to sell the home in the future and break even, or would you still be underwater? If keeping your Knoxville home is making life more difficult for you, it may be good to consider a short sale. Read the rest of this entry »
