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.

My lender won’t agree to a short sale on my Knoxville home, so I’ll end up in foreclosure anyhow.
Why this is false: In January of this year, short sales surpassed the number of foreclosures on the real estate market, due to the fact that more lenders were agreeing to short sales. Lenders are now seeing them benefits of them because they avoid the costly foreclosure process and tend to make more money off of short sales. There are even lenders offering incentives to do short sales so that foreclosure can be avoided.

I don’t have the money to pay for a short sale.
Why this is false: In a short sale, your lender pays of for the realtors commission, closing costs and all other costs incurred. The reason they would be willing to do this is that by avoiding foreclosure, they are saving themselves money in the long run.

If you are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments or owe more on your home than it is worth, please do not hesitate to contact me. I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and helping them explore their options. You can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com.

1. What is your experience in negotiating Knoxville short sales?
   Why it is important: Doing a short sale on your Knoxville home is a big decision. You want to make sure that you choose someone who has experience and has a proven track record of getting them done. They can be a complicated process and require a realtor who specializes. Also, be sure to see if your realtor has any success stories or special designation, like being a Certified Distressed Property Expert [CDPE].
2. How do you and your team negotiate short sales?
   Why it is important: It can be a long and tedious process. You will want to ensure that your realtor has someone on his/her team that focuses on short sales. Dealing with lenders can require a great deal of time and patience, it is important that the realtor you choose can dedicated the time and effort to the sale of your home.
3. What will the short sale process be like?
   Why it is important: As a seller, you will want to be informed about the process and what other options you may have to avoid foreclosure. Pick a someone who is open and honest about what options you have to avoid foreclosure.

Are you considering doing a short sale on your Knoxville home? If so, please do not hesitate to contact me at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. As a someone who specializes in helping Knoxville homeowner avoid foreclosure, I would be more than happy to sit down with you and help you discuss your options to avoid foreclosure. Also, be sure to check out my Resource Page.

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.

Still, in some cases, it is possible to stop the foreclosure. As an agent who has done many successful short sales in Knoxville, it can be possible to stop the foreclosure proceedings with the proper negotiations.  However, there are no guarantees.

Do you owe more on your Knoxville home than it is worth? Are you having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments? As a CDPE, I specializing in helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and helping them understand what alternatives they have. While every situation is different, it is important for you to know your options sooner rather than later.  Please do not hesitate to contact me, you can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com.  All of my services are done at no cost  to you. Also, be sure to check out my Resource Page.

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.

Renting Your Knoxville Home
Pros: You could possibly make income and continue to make payments on your mortgage payment.
Cons: Since you live out of town, it could be difficult to manage the property as a rental. What happens if something breaks? What happens if you tenant stops making payments? Not to mention, it is a temporary fix. When the tenant moves out, you either have to find a new tenant or you are back in the same situation.

Knoxville Short Sale
Pros: Most importantly, you avoid foreclosure. In a successful short sale, you are able to sell your home for less than its worth and your lender agree to less of a payoff and  not to pursue you for a deficiency judgement, or the remaining balance you owe.
Cons: It can take a long time, anywhere from 3 to 6 months or more. Also, there is no guarantee that you lender will agree to it

While every short sale situation is different, it could be a good option for you and your wife. It could allow you to get rid of your home and walk away with nothing owed to your lender. Determining what is the best option for you can be a difficult and complicated decision. As a CDPE, I specialize it helping distressed Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and explore what is the best option for them.  Please let me know if there is any way that I can assist you, feel free to send me an email or give me a call at 865-696-9002. Also, be sure to visit my Knoxville Short Sale and Foreclosure Solutions Page.

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.

• Pick a realtor who has experience with Knoxville short sales. The short sale transaction is not your average real estate transaction. You will want to pick someone who has experience and success negotiating them.
• Be flexible and make yourself available. While you can’t control every aspect of the process, being flexible about showings and getting your realtor all the necessary paperwork can help with the process.
• Be informed about the process. Pick a realtor who will keep you informed about what is going on and be sure you get all of your questions answered. It can be easier to deal with the stress if you know what is going on.

Are you considering doing a short sale on your Knoxville home? Please let me know if there is anyway that I can assist you. As a Certified Distressed Property Expert [CDPE], I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners explore their alternatives to foreclosure and I’ve successfully negotiated many short sales. Feel free to give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. Also, be sure to check out my Knoxville short sale and foreclosure resource page.

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.

If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments and would like to discuss your options, please give me a call at 865-696-9002.  As a CDPE, I specialize is helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure. My team and I spend a great deal of time keeping up with the many changes going on in the market and we are glad to help you. Please do no hesitate to contact me at Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.com and we can set up a time to discuss your options. Also, be sure to check out my resource page.

The new requirements for short sales will take effect in June. In the case of Knoxville short sales, all loans that are are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the loan servicers would be required to make a decision about short sales within 60 days. Loan servicers would also be require to give weekly updates on decisions taking longer than 30 days.

These new regulations also place requirements on how long a buyer or lender has to respond to a counteroffer. Any borrower has 5 business days to respond to a counteroffer from the lender and any lender has 10 business days to respond to a counteroffer from the lender. These new requirements were put in place by the Federal Housing Finance  Agency [FHFA] in an effort to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and to make lenders have more accountability during the short sale process.

In addition to these changes to the Knoxville short sale process, the FHFA is expected to simplify the short sale process further by the end of the year. Expected changes include: simplifying the required documentation,  help address borrower eligibility, and property valuation.

The new regulations, however, do give more time to obtain a broker price opinion (BPO) or approval from a private mortgage insurance company.

If you’ve been thinking about doing a short sale on your Knoxville home, please do not hesitate to contact me by giving me a call at 865-696-9002 or sending an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. I specialize in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure and would be more than happy to help explain your options.

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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?

The increase in Knoxville short sales, as well as in other parts of the nation, is good news for the housing market. With more lenders agreeing to short sales and avoiding the long foreclosure process, it may help housing prices stabilize. Also,  lenders are being held more accountable during the short sale process.  The Federal Housing Financing Agency, which oversees all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac homes, has ordered all loan services to respond to short sale offers within 30 days, and approve or deny the short sale within 60 days. While the Federal Housing Finance Agency, does not apply to conventional loans, it is still a step in the right direction. With lenders being held more accountable during the process and embracing short sales as an alternative to foreclosure, hopefully, the process will become easier, which is great news for the housing market and distressed homeowners.

If you owe more on your Knoxville home than it is worth and are having trouble making your monthly mortgage payments, please let me know if there is anyway that I can assist you, you can give me a call at 865-696-9002 or send an email to Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.Com. As a CDPE, I specialize in helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure and can help you explore you options, whether it is a short sale or help with a loan modification on your 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:

• Unemployment.
• Reduced income. Furloughs, a new job, a partner’s loss of a job, or a pay cut are examples.
• Illness or medical emergency.
• A Job transfer. (voluntary or involuntary)
• Divorce, separation or marital difficulties.
• Exotic mortgage terms (an adjustable-rate loan that adjusts and you cannot afford the new payment.)
• Military service.
• Death in the family.
• Incarceration.
• Increased expenses and excessive debt.
• Unexpected repairs or home maintenance.

Writing a good hardship is one of the most important parts of a successful short sale. A good hardship letter will show your lender three things:

1. How you got into your present situation – If, for example, you have missed mortgage payments state what caused this to happen. Was it due to job loss? Medical or some kind of family emergency? You need to be sure that the dates of the missed payments correspond to the circumstance that caused you to not make your mortgage payments. Use dates to references the times in which hardships happened to you.

2. What you have done to try to get out this situation – State the activities that you have undertaken to try and change your current situation.

3. Why this situation is permanent and nothing you can do will change it.

If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments and would like to discuss your options, please give me a call at 865-696-9002.  As a CDPE, I specialize is helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure. My team and I spend a great deal of time keeping up with the many changes going on in the market and we are glad to help you. Please do no hesitate to contact me Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.com and we can set up a time to discuss your options. Also, be sure to check out my resource page.

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.

No Tax Ramifications On The Forgiven Debt. Under the Mortgage Forgiveness Act, Knoxville homeowners who sold their home in a short sale will not have to pay income tax on the forgiven debt. While the Act expires at the end of the year, Obama has requested that it be extended beyond this year.

No Cost For The Seller. Unless otherwise agreed upon, there are no fees for the seller. The lender will take care of compensating the seller and taking care of other costs. In some cases, lenders are even offering incentives to sellers who opt to do short sales on their home.

If you are having trouble making your mortgage payments and don’t know where to turn, please give me a call at 865-696-9002. As a CDPE, I specialize is helping Knoxville homeowners avoid foreclosure. My team and I spend a great deal of time keeping up with the many changes going on in the market and we are glad to help you. Please do no hesitate to contact me Rick@KnoxvilleHomeSaver.com and we can set up a time to discuss your options.