Short Sale vs Foreclosure

(My guest blogger for this issue is Chad Rogers, of CMR Consulting.)

Anyone faced with the threat of foreclosure may decide to look into a short sale as an alternative. As a credit coach I am often asked “How does this affect my credit?” and the answer is, it will hurt either way. Chances are that someone that who is facing the threat of foreclosure has already started damaging their credit score by being in default, that is, behind on their payments. People have reported FICO score drops from 50 – 130 points from a short sale and 200 – 400 points after a foreclosure, but rarely, if ever, are there isolated changes in a credit report that make any point difference traceable. Others have reported no significant difference in credit score drops between the two. Either way, both are unhealthy behaviors for a credit score, no matter how you look at it.

Credit score aside, a short sale should be looked into for other reasons. The primary reason a short sale is better than a foreclosure is the waiting period before you will qualify for another home loan. You should always check with a reputable mortgage professional for their unique lender programs, but typically, you can get another FHA home loan in three years. If you are in arrears and a short sale is still granted by your lender, you may qualify to buy another home with a Fannie Mae backed mortgage within two years, regardless of whether the home is your primary residence. With a foreclosure, you may be eligible to buy another home in five years if the home was your primary residence, but the wait time can be as much as seven years. An investor typically must wait the full seven years with a Fannie Mae insured loan.

A loan application does not ask if you have had a short sale, but you are required to answer the question of whether you have ever had a property foreclosed upon in the last seven years. Even if you are fortunate enough to get it removed from your credit report, you still must disclose this information or you risk committing mortgage fraud, which is subject to investigation by the FBI.

Be aware that the homeowner may still owe the difference between the mortgage balance and what the discounted sale price was, resulting in a “deficiency judgment.” If granted, this judgment will affect a credit report as much as any other judgment. To avoid this, in negotiations, the bank needs to accept the payment in full without pursuit of any deficiency judgments. However, the homeowner would then need to declare that difference between the balance owed and the short sale by means of a 1099 tax form. A lender cannot do both! Another negotiating point can be how the bank will report the short sale to the credit bureaus, so use that to your advantage if possible.

To summarize, both short sales and foreclosures are harmful to your credit. However, with time (generally less time with a short sale), honest reporting, and informed negotiations with the bank handling the sale, the average person will be able to move on to a brighter future after the experience.

*Always obtain legal and tax advice before making a decision between a short sale or foreclosure.

Chad M. Rogers
Credit Coach & Professional Networker
CMR Consulting
crogers@cmrconsulting.biz
http://www.cmoreresults.com
Phone: 303-725-7385
FAX: 1-888-422-1804

Chad M. Rogers, a loving husband, father, and real estate professional for over 8 years, decided to pursue a career path in credit coaching because he genuinely loves helping people obtain the goal of home ownership. He is passionate about helping along the success of others, hence his favorite quote by Alexandre Dumas – “Nothing Succeeds Like Success.” After years of success as a top-performing title representative, Chad opened CMR Consulting, which focused on bringing products and services to the real estate community. He soon recognized the need for a trustworthy credit coaching partner and therefore expanded CMR Consulting to include these much needed credit coaching services. CMR Consulting is now the premier coaching company dedicated to educating consumers on credit and debt resolution. The goal is to only work with the very best real estate professionals helping fill the void in service to the public. CMR Consulting continues to help companies, families, and individuals improve their bottom line and services.

GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE NEEDING MORTGAGE HELP!

GREAT NEWS FOR PEOPLE NEEDING MORTGAGE HELP!

Anyone who is facing missed or reduced mortgage payments, and/or foreclosure should immediately get on the phone with their current lender and try to re-structure their loan. Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard this before and maybe have heard of lenders not being quite so helpful. This blog installment covers some important steps you can take to protect your home and your credit. But WAIT…THERE’S MORE!!!! Read on to find out about an effective, free resource available to struggling homeowners. I just learned about it and I can’t wait to share the good news with others. Be sure to read through the factual info to “Stella’s Story – Part 1”, below.

1. Reality check, please!

Most lenders won’t help you re-structure/modify unless you prove hardship. You have to have a job. This comes in the form of a missed payment or two, OR a process in which the homeowner has to show the lender all of their bills to prove they can’t pay. Either way, it’s a tedious process and one that will require follow through. The biggest obstacle is the homeowners themselves because often, they get so discouraged and frustrated that they give up. This is the most important piece – they must never give up. Take notes, write down who you talked to (i.e. numbers, dates, times etc.). Ask for supervisors; call every day. It’s worth the time and aggravation to try and save your home, not to mention your credit.

Once a homeowner is 90 days late, the foreclosure process will be started. From there, there is a certain amount of time (75 days or period of redemption), where a homeowner can pay the default payments and potentially save their home from foreclosure. Most often, people can’t pay, so they go into default and it’s almost impossible to stop it.

Short sales – this is when someone knows they can’t pay, but before their home goes into foreclosure, they list their property and have the bank agree to the offer.

2. How do these things impact your credit?

Foreclosure will be on your credit for 10 years. Under current guidelines, a conventional lender will not lend to you for 5 years.

Short sales will also be on your credit for 10 years. Under current guidelines, a conventional lender will not lend to you for 4 years.

Late payments – This is ideal and the easiest to repair. Most likely, if you’re late on your mortgage, no one will lend to you for a year, maybe more, but certainly less than 5 years. Hence, this is the reason homeowners need to put their pride and fear aside and tackle their challenge head on with their lender so they can protect their future.

3. Where’s the GREAT news? Read on about Stella:

 

Stella’s Story – Part 1

A close personal friend of mine, “Stella”, is going through a modification right now. She is a smart, beautiful, and successful woman, who has fallen on some hard times due to her industry. This can happen to any one of us. Because of our mutual trust, Stella has allowed me to tell her story in hopes that her experience will help others. Here are the details:

1. Stella called her lender for help BEFORE she was late or missed a payment, but this story applies to anyone who isn’t being foreclosed upon (i.e .has missed payments etc.).

2. Stella’s lender had to analyze her financials and determined that, because Stella was employed, but not making enough to cover all of her bills, they would agree to reduce her mortgage payment temporarily while they were trying to qualify her for a loan modification. Their formula was 31% of her income.

3. Stella did this for two months, but the deal included the following condition, Stella needed to call each time she was going to pay. On the third month, Stella was in for a nasty surprise.

4. Stella was told by her lender that IF Stella could pay the lender $1,800 now, they would continue to consider a loan modification.

5. Stella says, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I DON’T HAVE $1,800, WHICH IS WHY I’M TRYING TO MODIFY MY LOAN!”

6. The lender representative said in response, “You need to stop spending so much money on food.” (Don’t get me started….)

7. At this point, Stella was furious. But she had come this far and was determined to figure this out.

HERE’S THE GREAT NEWS:

Stella found this website: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov. She clicked on: “Find a Counselor” (Tab 4, at the top) She called the 800 number: 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). Stella and the counselor called Stella’s lender on a 3-way call. Magic happened. – After 10 minutes on hold, magically, the lender decided that Stella should be in the loan modification program without paying an additional $1,800.  The counselor is paid by the government. The government has been lending money to banks for this very reason. The counselors are the lenders’ check and balance so USE them. We are all paying for this.

I can’t thank Stella enough for finding out this information. I’m in this business and didn’t know about this resource. I encourage you to please send this information to everyone in your database. Someone you know, or someone they know is in trouble and they may be able to get some real help. As Stella’s story unfolds, I will continue to update you.

If you’re in trouble, or facing it, the best thing you can do is get a modification, and from there, learn how to manage your credit and finances by aligning yourself with a good financial planner, mortgage professional, CPA etc. Please contact me and I will connect you!

Megan McDonald, Licensed Mortgage Planner Excel Home Lending
383 Inverness Parkway, Suite 130
Englewood, CO 80112
Cell: 303-717-9995
Off: 303-790-2022
Fax: 303-468-6133
www.excelhomelending.com
www.mcdonaldlendingservices.com
http://twitter.com/megmcd