Knoxville Homeowners Alternatives to Foreclosure Category
Knoxville Short Sales and Foreclosures: 3 Common Myths
In the Knoxville real estate market, there is a lot of talk about short sales and foreclosures. You may be a person who experience some hardship over the past few years, whether is was job loss, divorce, or illness in the family. Or, you could be someone considering purchasing a Knoxville short sale or foreclosure. Still, with foreclosures and short sales becoming more prevalent within the Knoxville real estate market, there are a great deal of myths out there. Read on below to see 3 common Knoxville short sale and foreclosure myths.
Short sales often don’t work and there are few alternatives to avoid foreclosure.
Why this is false: If you are a Knoxville homeowner facing foreclosure, you do have options. Every situation is different and there are never any guarantees. However, if you are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments or owe more on your home than it is worth, you should know what options you may have, whether it is loan modification, deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or a short sale. Read the rest of this entry »
Can Your Lender File For Foreclosure If You’re Doing A Short Sale?
The decision to do a short sale on your Knoxville home in not an easy one and you’ve probably heard a lot of different things about the process and what may or may not happen. But once you’ve explored your options and decided to do a short sale on your Knoxville home, can your lender still file for foreclosure while the short sale is still in process?
While short sales are a great alternative to foreclosure, your lender can still decide to file for one while the short sale on your Knoxville home is being negotiated. Unfortunately, just because you are doing a short sale, your lender still has the ability to file for one any time during the process.
In the state of Tennessee, the time between a foreclosure filing and the actual court sale is quite fast compared to other states. Tennessee has to give you sixty days notice before they can foreclose on your Knoxville home. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sale Question: Should I Do A Short Sale?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received the following question from Lexi, “My husband and I are considering doing a short sale on our Knoxville home. He lost his job about two years ago and recently found one in Texas, though, he’s not making as much as he used to, so we are currently struggling to pay our mortgage payments. Our home is worth significantly less than when we bought it and there is no way we could get the price we owe on it if we tried to sell it. We’ve considered trying to rent it, but we have been wondering at what point we should decide just to try and do a short sale?”
While there are many different options to avoid foreclosure, doing a short sale on your Knoxville home can be just as good as a solution as any. There are many homeowners who are in your exact situation. Deciding what option is best for you is a truly personal decision. Here is a breakdown of the pros and the cons of each of your options to avoid foreclosure. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sales: What’s The Worst Thing About Them?
The term short sale is not an uncommon one in the Knoxville real estate market. If you currently owe more on your Knoxville home than it is worth or are having difficulty making your mortgage payment, it may be an option you are considering. So, what’s the worst thing about a Knoxville short sale?
The emotional stress of the process. Depending on the lender, it can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months to negotiate. Waiting for your short sale to successfully being negotiated can be a very stressful time. You are left wondering if your lender will approve your short sale and what will happen if they do not.
While you can’t control how long it takes to negotiate with your lender, there are a few things that you can control, that can hopefully make the process less stressful. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sale Question: How Much Do Short Sales Cost?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received the following question from Carol, “My husband and I have been struggling over the past year to pay the mortgage on our Knoxville home. We have been considering doing a short sale, but would not have the money to pay for a realtor or any of the closing costs. If we did do a short sale, how much would it cost us?”
In a successful Knoxville short sale, the transaction is completed at no cost to the seller. The lender agrees to pay all costs associated with the transaction, including the commission and closing fees.
So why exactly would a lender be willing to pay these fees?
Because lenders know short sales are a great alternative for foreclosure. Knoxville short sales are better for seller, lenders, and the Knoxville real estate market. In recent months, lenders have been agreeing to do more Knoxville short sales as an alternative to foreclosure, due to the fact that short sales sell at higher prices. Not to mention, by avoiding foreclosures, lenders avoid all of the costs associated with the longforeclosure process. For a lender, a short sale is a better outcome than foreclosure, which is why they are willing to agree to pay these costs. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sales Increase As Banks Agree To More Short Sale Deals
Short sales in Knoxville, and in other parts of the U.S., have increased and surpassed the number of foreclosures for the first time, as lender have embraced short sales as a better alternative to foreclosures, according to new data released by Lender Processing Services, Inc.
In January, short sales accounted for 23.9% of all home purchases, compared to 19.7% of sales of foreclosed homes. In January of 2011, short sales accounted for 16.3% of home sales while foreclosures accounted for 24.9% of all home sales.
Statistics also collected from Lender Processing Services also shows that homes that are sold in a short sale tend to get higher asking prices than those of foreclosures. In January, foreclosed homes sold for 29% less than a comparable non-distressed homes, while short sales sold for 23% less than a comparable non-distressed homes.
So what exactly does this data suggest for Knoxville housing market? Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sale Question: Do I Qualify For A Short Sale?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received the following question from Dwight, “I lost my job six months ago and recently found a new job. Unfortunately, I making about 35% less than I was. Every month I take money out of my savings to pay my bills. I owe about $50,000 more on my house than it is worth. Can I still qualify to do a short sale on my Knoxville home?”
Based on the information you’ve given, it sounds like you may qualify to do a short sale on your Knoxville home. In order for a lender to approve a short sale on your Knoxville home, they will want to see that since you took the loan, you’ve undergone some sort of hardship since then, which makes paying your monthly mortgage difficult. There are many different situations which would constitute hardship, including: Read the rest of this entry »
Why Knoxville Shorts Sales Are a Better Alternative to Foreclosure
Knoxville short sales have become more prevalent in the Knoxville real estate market over the past few years as distressed homeowners have tried to find ways to avoid foreclosure. Here are a few of the many reasons that Knoxville short sales are better alternative to foreclosure for Knoxville homeowners.
Better Sales Price. Knoxville short sales sell for a higher sales price than foreclosures. Much of the time, while the short sale is being negotiated, the homeowner is still in the home and still being maintained, which is generally why the sell at a higher price. A better sales price helps preserve better sales prices as a whole in the neighborhood.
Debt Forgiveness. In many Knoxville short sales, the lender is willing to forgive the homeowner for the difference still owed on the home. While this is not always a guarantee, homeowner will want to make sure that their lender agrees to not pursue them for a deficiency judgement. Read the rest of this entry »
Knoxville Short Sale Question: What Short Sale Problems Can Be Avoided?
In our Ask the Expert Section, we recently received the following question from Stephanie, “My husband and I are considering doing a short sale on our home, but are concerned about how long it can take and how difficult they can be. What problems can be avoided when doing a short sale on our Knoxville home?”
There not denying short sales are a long and sometimes difficult process, however, when it comes to avoiding foreclosure on you Knoxville home, the long difficult process is worth it. Here are a few common problems with Knoxville short sales and how these problems can be avoided.
One of the biggest issues with short sales is paperwork. Throughout the short sale process, the lender is going to request and re-request paperwork. The sooner you get them the paperwork, the better. Any major delay in paperwork can delay the process. Read the rest of this entry »
Will HARP 2.0 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.
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.
This past week the new provisions were released for HARP 2.0. Here is a brief run down on the newly revised program available to underwater Knoxville homeowners.
In order to qualify, the borrower must meet three qualification: (1) the loan must be backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae [FHA and VA loans are backed by private entities] (2) the loan must have been taken out prior to June 1, 2009 (3) the borrower must have made his/her last 6 payment on time and only have 1 late payment in the last 12 months.
