- 1). Contact your lender to see if you have options other than short sale. Ask about the likelihood that a short sale will be approved if the lender has no better options for you, and request advice about how to proceed.
- 2). Submit your hardship letter and agent release, which gives the lender permission to discuss your account with your real estate agent as soon as possible.
- 3). List your home for sale immediately, especially if homes are selling slowly in your area. Ask your agent to make a note in the listing information that the sale may be a short sale.
- 4). Be honest with your agent about your lien holders and how far behind you are in your payments to each. Your agent needs this information in order to negotiate on your behalf.
- 5). Ask your agent for comparative market analysis. The analysis will show for how much your home is likely to sell. The lender will have its own version. Price your home competitively.
- 6). Assemble your financial documentation early so that it's ready to send as soon as you accept an offer on your home. Gather recent pay stubs, bank statements, investment account statements, bills for credit accounts and other monthly expenses and your most recent two tax returns. Keep this documentation in a file, and add updated documents as they become available.
- 7). Make your home easy to show. Allow for-sale signs, if your community permits them, and a lock box to hold a key that agents can use to let themselves and their buyers in. Keep your home in show-ready condition.
- 8). Consider offers objectively and with as much flexibility as possible. Avoid taking them personally. Your one-and-only goal is to sell your house for a price the lender will accept.
- 9). Ask your agent to update you weekly about her discussions with the lender's short sale negotiator. This will help to ensure that your agent does, in fact, contact the negotiator every week.
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