The foreclosure crisis has had a long and destructive run – five years and counting, with millions put out of their homes. According to the Center for Responsible Lending ( CRL), we’re not even halfway through the devastation.
Foreclosures are going to go up before they go down,” according to Craig Nickerson, president of the National Community Stabilization Trust. Nickerson says estimates put foreclosure tallies at 850,000 this year, as high as 1.5 million in 2013, and then back to the levels we’re at today by 2015.
With all these distressed properties potentially making their way to an already stressed marketplace, Nickerson, along with a panel of industry professionals advocate for bulk short sales.
HUD has a $7 billion program created to facilitate the rehabilitation of properties in communities challenged with high levels of foreclosures and property vacancies – aptly named the Neighborhood Stabilization Program ( NSP ).
Selling one house at a time, means 10 years from now we’ll still be in the midst of this crisis. Lenders need to pool their short sales and tailor services that are geared toward investors and nonprofit groups to facilitate bulk purchases of short sale properties. Areas such as Maricopa County , that are a target of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, should be the front runners in bulk short sales.
The benefits of a short sale vs. a foreclosure are astounding. Because the public is now understanding these advantages, the number of short sales in the Arizona MLS is on the rise and the number of foreclosures are decreasing. There has been little to no movement in the number of loan modifications being accepted by homeowners.
The biggest hurdle we are seeing in the acceptance of short sales is the homeowner waiting too long to contact a real estate agent and initiate the sale. The typical short sale takes 3-4 months to complete. If you have 45 days or less until your property's auction date, it will be extremely difficult to negotiate a successful short sale.
Don't think of a short sale as your last resort. Think of a short sale as your most viable option and wisest business choice to maneuver out of your current mortgage predicament. Sadly, if you are at least 2-3 months behind on your mortgage payments, odds are you will need to move out of the property. The quicker you realize that you will need to move and contact a real estate agent, the better your chance of a successful short sale.
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