It’s bad enough that you are upside down or underwater” as they say in your Arizona home, that’s bad enough, then your 5/1 ARM starts to adjust. Upward.  Now you are paying more on a home that is obviously worth less.  Next you are having problems keeping up with the payments.  You miss one payment, then two.  The phone starts ringing, at home, at work, your cell.  You are falling further and further behind on your payments.  What are you to do?

Well, in the above scenario, which is all too common, not only here in Arizona, but throughout the country, there are some options available to you besides the dreaded “F” word-Foreclosure. One of them is Short Sale.

So, you start doing your research.  You quickly learn that you have better odds of winning the lottery than getting a loan modification.  Besides, there is not too much time.   So, Short Sale it is.

A short sale is an arrangement in which a homeowner sells his or her home for less than the outstanding mortgage, with the consent of the lender.  Today “short sale” has become a house-hold word – “Short sale” IS the new buzz word in real estate. It’s almost cool?

Soon you are contacted by an investor that says they can help you short sale your home.  They have an offer on your home.  This person explains that he/she will negotiate directly with the bank on your behalf and negotiate the short sale.   What’s the harm?  They said that they have closed “hundreds of short sales”

You owe $450,000 on a home that is now worth (maybe) $250,000.  The investor negotiates with the bank to accept $150,000.  What you and the bank are not told is that they are planning to buy your home for $150,000 and sell it immediately to another buyer they have already lined up for $200,000. Pocketing $50,000.  This is fraud.  Short Sale Fraud to be exact.  You and your lender have been set up by a premeditated scheme- short sale fraud.

Phoenix has the dubious distinction of being on a list of growing mortgage fraud.  Read the FBI’s 2009 Mortgage Fraud Report HERE

If you are considering Short Sale, Real estate experts say to avoid being scammed, do not work with someone without a license, do not pay any up-front fees, watch out for extra charges, and be aware of short sale negotiators who will misrepresent your home below market value….in an attempt to turn around and flip it.

If you are a seller in Arizona considering Short Sale, feel free to contact me.  I  work with many of the best short sale REALTORs/agents in the Phoenix Metro area.  I will be happy to refer you to one of them that fits your needs..   Stephen Garner.

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