RE/MAX First

Yesterday, we told you about a new program that Fair Isaac, the founder of the FICO score, came out with to tracks strategic defaults.

A potential home seller asked me, how do I we get paid on a short sale transaction? Here is the answer to that question.

"I would like to hire you to help me short sale my house. However, I am concerned that if the short sale doesn't go thru, then I will still owe you money. No. There is NO Costs to you, whether we are successful or not short saling your property

We talked to a homeowner recently about a short sales. Her house was close to being foreclosed upon very soon. She had thought about short selling the house. But, she had heard from her friends that banks don't really like short sales.

I see a lot of agents making mistakes on short sales property valuation. Lenders hire a supposedly impartial third party to value the property.

What do you do when the house isn't selling for any more money, but the bank keeps on rejecting the offers? You can give up, but then the seller loses the house to foreclosure.

If your loan qualifies for the HAFA program, then you may be eligible for a number of financial incentives. You can get up to $3,000 to help with moving costs.

"I am trying to buy a short sale. I have been waiting on an answer to my offer for 6 months. The agent tells me we should have an answer any day.

We received the following e-mail a little while ago from another agent that does short sales. It illustrates how the current short sale guidelines hurt the housing market and homeowners short selling their house.

"I have an FHA loan and want to get a loan modification. My bank is playing hardball and won't modify the loan at all. My friend got a loan modification and said it was pretty easy. What can I do to modify my loan?"