The Orange County Register is reporting today that home sales in Orange County are down 16.9% from what they were at this time one year ago.  If the economy is in any kind of recovery, a highly dubious proposition to say the least, that recovery has not lifted the housing market out of its current distressed situation.  For many, jobs are still hard to find.  Bills are still hard to pay.  One or both spouses have likely seen a decrease in pay.  To add to the weight of all these problems, many homeowners are burdened with an expensive mortgage on a home that is worth less than they owe on it.

Foreclosure has killed the American dream for many southern California home owners.  From San Clemente to Yorba Linda, each and every week houses are foreclosed and sold at auction.  Before they were vacant property, these houses were homes bustling with people living their lives and raising their families.  In addition to losing their homes, these families now have to suffer the consequences of a bad credit score and an inability to apply for a mortgage for several years.  Sadly, many of these homeowners likely did not realize that they had options other than foreclosure.

Short sales provide homeowners with an opportunity to sell their house and possibly have their mortgage debt forgiven.  With home sales being down 17% from last year, buyers are few and far between.  These buyers know that they don't have to settle for the high prices they would've paid five years ago; today, the housing market is all about bargain buying.  Short sales are a bargain for most buyers.

In a market where bargains come at a great cost to the typical seller, bargain pricing comes as a great benefit to short sellers.  In a short sale, the goal of the sale is to sell the home at a price the bank will accept versus selling the home at a price that gains the buyer the maximum amount of equity from the home.  Because banks would rather a homeowner sell a home than having to foreclose on the home, they are willing to accept a price slightly below the going market rate.

If you think a short sale might be right for you, here's what you need to do to get started:

First, find a reputable real estate agent with a track record of success in short sales.  Short sales are not the same as standard (equity) sales and they require a knowledgeable person to see them through to the end.  Don't rely on tag lines like "short sale expert."  Paper certificates from a brief seminar aren't good enough.  Ask to see proven results.

Second, make sure you have an attorney reviewing the terms of the sale.  A good short sale attorney may be able to eliminate "recourse" language from the sale thereby stopping banks from trying to collect on your mortgage debt in the future.

Third, don't hide anything about the home.  When you find an agent, tell them the full story so that nothing surprises either the agent or the bank.  When negotiating a short sale, surprises put the success of the sale at risk.

Finally, be ready to wait.  Unlike standard sales, short sales require negotiation and negotiations take time.

We recommend you work with Fitzpatrick and Prince Real Estate and Rasmussen Law Firm.  They have a proven record of success having closed 95% of their short sales.  Nationally, the average short sale closure rate is only 20%.  Additionally, these companies have worked together on a number of short sales, they understand how the other operates, and can move quickly, together, to negotiate with the banks to close your short sale.  Start the conversation today with Mark, Whitney, or Blake at Fitzpatrick and Prince Real Estate.  Give them a call at: 800.880.9962.