Florida Foreclosure Options: Short Sales

Florida Foreclosure Options with Short Sales: Sell Your Home When its Underwater

In the Florida foreclosure process, homeowners’ long-term options include: mortgage modification, deed in-lieu, bankruptcy, and short sales.

Oppenheim Law, Florida’s leading foreclosure defense law firm, can help you put a halt on your foreclosure and offer you guidance on your long-term ownership options.

If you are looking to scale down, move or start fresh, we recommend you consider a short sale. The short sale option applies for families living in “underwater” homes, or homes that are valued at less than the amount of their current mortgage. If a bank agrees to a short sale, a borrower can sell the home back to the bank for less than the amount due on the mortgage.

Short Sale Florida

A short sale involves hiring a Realtor and listing the home on the market for its current value. However, if the mortgage balance exceeds the sales price, the homeowner will not have enough money at closing to pay the bank; hence, the sale is “short.”

Because of their massive foreclosure backlogs, banks are more willing than ever to allow borrowers to walk away legally via a short sale, often without a deficiency. In some cases the bank will offer you money, sometimes as much as $35,000 depending on the lender, to agree to the short sale.

Homeowners can use that money to cover moving costs, rent or a down payment at a more affordable home.

In order to complete a short sale, families in risk of foreclosure should hire an attorney experienced in short sales to work with their lender. The attorneys at Oppenheim Law are experienced in Florida real estate law, including short sales.

Through dealing with numerous banks over the years, our foreclosure defense attorneys will sort through the factors that the bank will consider including: the homeowner’s hardship and income; the appraised value of the home; the equity the bank would obtain at a foreclosure sale; and the cost they would incur if they have to “carry the property” after the sale.

The important thing to note for Florida short sales is that if the homeowner cannot show true hardship, the bank will expect the homeowner to bring the excess cash to closing, which leaves the homeowner to be the one making up the “short” at closing. However, the benefit of a short sale is that once the house is sold, it’s sold. The homeowner is done with the bank, and the bank is done with the homeowner.

Contact us online or give us a call at 954-384-6114 to speak to our experienced foreclosure defense attorneys today for more information on our foreclosure defense and short sale options.

Oppenheim Law | Florida Short Sale Attorneys
2500 Weston Rd #209
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33331
954-384-6114  short sale attorney fort lauderdale, short sale attorney miami, short sale attorney florida,