A Strategy to Avoid House Repos in Florida
Nowadays, distressed homeowners in Florida and the rest of the country will try everything to avoid losing their properties to foreclosures. That is why many troubled borrowers have fallen victims to fraudulent foreclosure prevention schemes.
The federal and state governments have launched several programs to help distressed homeowners remain in their homes. And one of the strategy that is fast gaining popularity in Florida as a way to help distressed homeowners avoid house repos is short sale.
Three years ago, short sale is hardly a known strategy to avoid foreclosures. Now it is the hottest trend in the real estate market. Short sale involves lenders agreeing to sell distressed properties for less than the total amount that homeowners owed for their mortgage.
Lenders’ agreement and full cooperation are crucial for the success of this method as they will have to accept whatever the price that distressed properties will fetch on the market as payment for homeowners’ mortgage.
Typically, lenders agree on this strategy if homeowners are already behind on their mortgage payments and they have no way to make their accounts current.
According to industry experts, short sale allows banks to get more money from delinquent properties than if they repossessed on them. The drawback for homeowners is that they will damage their credit scores but not as much as when they go into foreclosures.
Experts said that short sales accounted for over 40 percent of the total home sales in Florida. About 15 percent to 20 percent of home sales involved foreclosure properties.
They pointed out that sales of foreclosed homes have pressured property prices in Brevard County and also the rest of Florida. They added that with the unemployment rate surging at a record level, they do not expect the number of foreclosed homes to dwindle anytime soon.
Meanwhile, industry experts are expecting the number of short sales to surge in the near future, particularly if foreclosure will remain unabated.
Owners who are considering short sale as a way to sell their properties include investors who are trying to dispose of their vacant houses or condominiums and people who lost their jobs or source of income and have purchased properties that they could not afford.
Industry experts said that short sale will continue to be a driving force in the real estate market in Florida for some time, especially if the recession drags on.
Related Posts:
- Short Sales: A Way to Avoid Repossessed Home
- New Strategy to Stall Banks’ Foreclosure Gaining Popularity
- Bank REO Properties Up in June
- Foreclose Houses Make Up 60 Percent of Sales in Florida
- Realtors Cut Number of Foreclosed Homes through Short Sales
