Another Lesson in Short Sales

By Stacey Moncrieff, Editor in Chief, REALTOR® Magazine

The more I learn about short sales, I told Scott Thompson yesterday, the more complex they seem. That’s pretty much par for the course, according to Scott, whose company, Mortgage Resolution Services of Sacramento, works on short sales every day.

Scott and I were having breakfast yesterday, preparing for our second short sales webinar. The first, in March, enjoyed an enormous response. Besides the thousands who joined the call, more than 14,000 people have either played back the session or downloaded it.

Yesterday’s session was a bit of a free-for-all. We fashioned it as a way to answer the questions we couldn’t get to in the first session. Some of the key points I took from Scott’s comments yesterday were:

• Second-home and investment short sales are possible. A lot of participants asked about this. Both second-home owners and investment property owners stand a chance of making a short sale work — as long as they’re upfront and honest about their situation. Scott talked about the importance of an effective hardship letter. It should include three elements:
  • “Dear Lender: I’m sorry about this situation I find myself in.”
  • “Here’s the modification or action I’m requesting.”
  • “I’ve exhausted all other possibilities.”

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