Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a Short Sale?
A: A Short Sale is a Lender’s voluntary acceptance of less money than is owed to allow a property to be sold as an alternative to foreclosure.
Q: Why would a Lender approve a Short Sale?
A: If the Lender believes the Short Sale offer is better than what they would net if they took the property back at foreclosure and sold it themselves, they will most likely approve a Short Sale. The costs of taking a property back in foreclosure are tremendous for the Lender, including accrued interest, attorney’s fees, listing charges, and maintenance costs.
Q: How do I know if a property is a Short Sale prospect?
A: If the homeowner is behind on their mortgage, has some sort of hardship, and does not have the financial ability to solve the problem on their own, then it might be a good Short Sale prospect.
Q: Why would a homeowner opt for a Short Sale?
A: A successful Short Sale will prevent a foreclosure from appearing on the homeowner’s credit report. If the home is foreclosed on but the mortgage company is not able to sell the home for what is owed on it and recoup all of their costs, the homeowner may still be obligated for the difference. In addition, the Lender will potentially tack on interest charges, legal fees, listing charges, and maintenance costs of the home while it is up for sale. In pursuing a Short Sale vs. foreclosure, the homeowner will also have the satisfaction of knowing they tried everything possible to fulfill their obligation to the Lender on the money they borrowed. In addition, if a lender agrees to a short sale the homeowner may not be liable for the deficiency balance. Even if the homeowner IS liable for the deficiency balance, we can work hard to negotiate that amount down as well.
Q: Why shouldn’t I attempt the Short Sale myself?
A: Short Sales are an incredibly long and arduous process. You can spend hours and hours gathering and submitting paperwork and on hold waiting to hear from any number of committees. In order to be successful with Short Sales, you must devote a huge amount of time to them. In this market, the last thing a real estate agent needs to be doing is sitting on hold with a lender instead of focusing on listing and selling properties.
Q: What do I have to do?
A: Just identify a Short Sale Prospect, submit the order to us, and then work to find a buyer while also finding more listings. We will handle the rest!
Q: How much is this going to cost the homeowner?
A: The fee for our service will be added to the settlement statement as a seller paid closing cost that will reduce the net amount that the lender must agree to. In certain situations the homeowner may walk away from the closing table WITH money! There is no gaurantee however that a lender will agree to modify the terms of the mortgage.
Q: What about my commission?
A: When you work with us we will work for you to get your full listing commission!
Q: Will Tippecanoe Title Services only manage short sales in Tippecanoe and surrounding Counties?
A: No, we will manage short sales for any agent throughout the state of Indiana.
Q: Is Tippecanoe Title Services MARS compliant?
A: Yes we have carefully inspected our operation to ensure that we are compliant in negotiating short sales.