There are three types of foreclosures used by individual states, judicial, power of sale, and strict foreclosure.

            1. Judicial is allowed in all states. After the lender files with the judicial system, you will receive a notice for payment. After 30 days with no response from you, the property is sold at an auction conducted by the court.

            2. Power of sale, also known as statutory foreclosure, is allowed in many states if your mortgage contains a “power of sale” clause. In this case, the mortgage company, after sending out the required notices and waiting for an established period of time, carries out the auction of your Gainesville FL home.

            3. Strict foreclosure is allowed in some states and provides for the property, again after the required notices and time period, to revert directly to the lender. No auction is involved. Usually this type of foreclosure occurs only when the amount of the debt exceeds the value of the property.

If you cannot meet your mortgage obligations, the lender must notify you in writing as it proceeds with each step of the foreclosure process, designed as follows:

            1. Notice to accelerate: Once you are sixty days past due, you will receive a notice to accelerate. The only way to stop the process at this point is to bring current the loan amount past due plus any assessed late fees. You may also be informed that you will be responsible for any attorney fees incurred.

            2. The demand letter: If you do not pay the past due amount by the date previously established by the lender, it will hire an attorney to send you a demand letter stating that, without immediate payment, the foreclosure will be sent to the court.

            3. Notice of default: Without a payment from you, the lender will file a formal foreclosure notice with the court. You will have 20 to 30 days to respond to this judgment before further steps are taken.

            4. The notice of sale: After no response from you in the allotted time period, you will be given a notice of sale which sets the date of the court’s auction or the repossession of your Gainesville FL home by the lender.

Linda Luetjen assists buyers looking for Gainesville FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Gainesville FL homes for sale.

She understands the purchase of any Gainesville FL home represents not only one of the largest and most significant investment a person can make, but also a decision that affects the entire life of a family. It should be handled with all the care and attention such a significant transaction deserves. You may rest assured that Linda never forgets this. Her reputation depends on your satisfaction.

For more information about buying or selling your Gainesville FL home, please call Linda toll free at 888-424-8841 or via email with our convenient contact form.

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Short Sale

A short sale is, in essence, the sale of a home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. This sale is done by you the homeowner, and your realtor, not the lender, and you may continue to reside in your Gainesville FL home until it sells. Such a sale is not an “easy out” for the homeowner, however. The lender (and any investors who own your loan) must agree to the short sale and will often do only so after loan modification alternatives (restructuring the loan) have been fully explored. For obvious reasons, many lenders prefer to forego a few monthly payments or lower your interest rate rather than having to begin foreclosure proceedings and take over the property.

You will have to convince the lender that you are sincere in your desire to make the short sale work and reach a fair settlement. You will most likely have to find a realtor who is willing to work for a smaller commission, contribute any available assets you have to lessen the outstanding mortgage balance, and demonstrate that you have “tightened your belt” by scaling back on your spending. Those things being accomplished, your lender may approve the short sale process in order to take a smaller loss, prevent a lengthy and costly foreclosure procedure, and avoid being saddled with a hard to sell foreclosure property.

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative

To further encourage “underwater” homeowners to use the short sale approach and lenders to approve such sales, the federal government has instituted a new program that provides financial incentives to the parties involved. Known as HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative), the homeowner who uses the short sale process could receive up to $3000.00 for relocation assistance, and a maximum of $6000.00 could be available to the lenders/investors serving the mortgage. Under this program, which has not been as successful as originally hoped, the lender will use real estate agents to determine the value of the home and the minimum to accept. If an offer comes in that is equal to or higher than that figure, the lender must accept it.

Major lenders seem to be taking a cautious approach to the government’s initiative, however, and homeowners applying for the program have faced qualification difficulties, need for documentation, long application forms, too much bureaucratic paperwork, and a longer completion time. To qualify for HAFA, you must first qualify for the federal loan modification program (HAMP), meaning that your loan is more than 31% of your current income. You must also show evidence of financial hardship such as job loss or rising interest rate. If you qualify for HAMP but are still unable to keep your mortgage in good standing, then you can qualify for the HAFA program.

If you are not interested in the federal initiative, you begin the quest for a short sale yourself by following these (simplified) steps:

1. Verify the current value of your Gainesville FL home with your broker.

2. Ask the realtor for an estimate of all closing costs.

3. Find the total amount owed against the property.

4. Calculate the negative difference between the total amount owed plus closing costs and the estimated proceeds of the sale.

5. Contact a lender (or lenders) or have your agent talk with them.

6. Request approval for a short sale.

7. Sell the house. (Oh, if only it were this easy!)

Real estate professionals with the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) Designation have been trained extensively to understand the options, solutions, and effective methods for dealing with homeowners facing hardships. Don’t risk your financial future and the potential sale of your home with an agent who does not have all the solutions. Contact Linda Luetjen of Gator Homes Realty today!

Alachua County & Gainesville FL Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

Home price appreciation remained the same in January and the number of new foreclosures totaled  231.

Alachua County foreclosure activity is based on the total number of properties that receive foreclosure filings – default notice, foreclosure auction notice or repossession notice – each month. Home price appreciation is based on month-over-month percentage change of the Home Price Index. The Home Price Index is calculated from home sales records.

Alachua County & Gainesville FL Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

Alachua County foreclosures are 0.05% below national statistics and 0.24% below state figures.

Alachua County & Gainesville FL Foreclosure Activity by Month

The number of Bank-owned properties decreased from 42 properties in December to 26 properties in January. The number of Auctions decreased from 58  to 41 while Pre-foreclosure activity jumped from 155 to 164.

Are you or someone you know behind on your mortgage payments and facing a Gainesville FL foreclosure? You do have options. A short sale may be the answer to saving you, your family and your home. I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE). Give me a call for a private consultation.

1. Consider loan modification first. If you are thinking of selling your Gainesville home because of financial difficulties and you anticipate a short sale, first contact your lender to see if it has any programs to help you stay in your home. Your lender may agree to a modification such as: 

• Refinancing your loan at a lower interest rate
• Providing a different payment plan to help you get caught up
• Providing a forbearance period if your situation is temporary 

When a loan modification still isn’t enough to relieve your financial problems, a short sale could be your best option if 

• Your property is worth less than the total mortgage you owe on it.
• You have a financial hardship, such as a job loss or major medical bills.
• You have contacted your lender and it is willing to entertain a short sale. 

2. Hire a qualified team. The first step to a short sale is to hire a qualified real estate professional* and a real estate attorney who specialize in short sales. Interview at least three candidates for each and look for prior short-sale experience. Short sales have proliferated only in the last few years, so it may be hard to find practitioners who have closed a lot of short sales. You want to work with those who demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of the short-sale process and who won’t try to take advantage of your situation or pressure you to do something that isn’t in your best interest. 

A qualified Gainesville real estate professional can: 

• Provide you with a comparative market analysis (CMA) or broker price opinion (BPO).
• Help you set an appropriate listing price for your home, market the home, and get it sold.
• Put special language in the MLS that indicates your home is a short sale and that lender approval is needed (all MLSs permit, and some now require, that the short-sale status be disclosed to potential buyers).
• Ease the process of working with your lender or lenders.
• Negotiate the contract with the buyers.
• Help you put together the short-sale package to send to your lender (or lenders, if you have more than one mortgage) for approval. You can’t sell your home without your lender and any other lien holders agreeing to the sale and releasing the lien so that the buyers can get clear title.  

3. Begin gathering documentation before any offers come in. Your lender will give you a list of documents it requires to consider a short sale. The short-sale “package” that accompanies any offer typically must include 

• A hardship letter detailing your financial situation and why you need the short sale
• A copy of the purchase contract and listing agreement
• Proof of your income and assets
• Copies of your federal income tax returns for the past two years 

4. Prepare buyers for a lengthy waiting period. Even if you’re well organized and have all the documents in place, be prepared for a long process. Waiting for your lender’s review of the short-sale package can take several weeks to months. Some experts say: 

• If you have only one mortgage, the review can take about two months.
• With a first and second mortgage with the same lender, the review can take about three months.
• With two or more mortgages with different lenders, it can take four months or longer.  

When the bank does respond, it can approve the short sale, make a counteroffer, or deny the short sale. The last two actions can lengthen the process or put you back at square one. (Your real estate attorney and real estate professional, with your authorization, can work your lender’s loss mitigation department on your behalf to prepare the proper documentation and speed the process along.) 

5. Don’t expect a short sale to solve your financial problems. Even if your lender does approve the short sale, it may not be the end of all your financial woes. Here are some things to keep in mind: 

• You may be asked by your lender to sign a promissory note agreeing to pay back the amount of your loan not paid off by the short sale. If your financial hardship is permanent and you can’t pay back the balance, talk with your real estate attorney about your options. 
• Any amount of your mortgage that is forgiven by your lender is typically considered income, and you may have to pay taxes on that amount. Under a temporary measure passed in 2007, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation Act, homeowners can exclude debt forgiveness on their federal tax returns from income for loans discharged in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Be sure to consult your real estate attorney and your accountant to see whether you qualify. 
• Having a portion of your debt forgiven may have an adverse effect on your credit score. However, a short sale will impact your credit score less than foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Reprinted from Realtor Magazine with permission from National Associaiton of Realtors.