Dealing with “distressed” homes

By Lisa Williams, CRS, GRI, ABR

Williams & Associates Realty

All over the country, homeowners are getting into trouble on their homes because of job loss, illness, or because they over extended themselves. Add to that a drop in real estate values and you have a recipe for disaster.

These are the things that real estate professionals have been confronted with every day for the past few years. Realtors cannot give legal advice to clients regarding finances, but they can layout the options regarding home sales.

When someone gets into trouble, they need to talk to their lender because until they make that call, the lender doesn’t know about the problem. It won’t be an easy call to make, but you have to approach the people you have financial situations with so that you can assess the damages and work through the process.

Every lender is different. Some tell the homeowner to put the house on the market and call them when they have an offer and they will evaluate the situation at that time. Others opt for a formal short sale where they agree upfront to take whatever the homeowner can sell the house for. A short sale is better than foreclosure because a short sale will ruin a homeowner’s credit for two years, but the impact of a foreclosure, on the other hand, lasts for seven years.

While a short sale is the best option for the homeowner, it is also the most difficult path to take. The paperwork is very important and if one little thing is missing from the paperwork, the file is ruled incomplete and is often overlooked.

There are free seminars and non-for-profit organizations available to assist you in the paperwork if you contact them early enough.

Williams & Associates Realty can provide you with your real estate needs.  Lisa Williams has been working with individuals and families since 1981 providing a variety of real estate services. Ask about the free home buying seminars where professionals will be there to help answer questions you have regarding homeownership.

Feel free to contact Lisa Williams, CRS, GRI, ABR of Williams & Associates Realty for more information at (414) 463-9948 or www.williams-realtors.com