Anyone know anything about selling your home under a short sale? Anyone btdt?

[Beth35]

I am hoping that I can find some folks who know a bit more about short sales than I do and who can offer some advice.  Maybe there are even folks here who have done it themselves.

Here is my situation.  I live in central jersey with my two kids.  I am a single mom.  I adopted my kids  through foster care when they were infants.

I bought a house about four years ago before my health began to deteriorate.  The past year and a half have been rough.  I had to wait a while before recieving disability.  I also lost my health insurance.  So my credit is not good due to that.

I started dialysis in March.  I just had my third graft surgery on Monday.  ALL of my family live in North West Jersey.  It's about an hour and a half drive.  I have no extra bedrooms for anyone to sleep in and I'm so far away from help when I need it.

My dialysis days are ROUGH b/c I have to get my very rambuncious five and six year olds from school.  I have zero energy and it is hard.

Sometimes I get sick and think I may need to go to the ER but everyone is so far away.  One night I had an irregular heartbeat and I called my mom in a panic.  She did come but it took her an hour and a half to get here.  I also fell that night b/c I was so hot that I went outside for air and fell down hard.  It was eleven o'clock at night and it was very scary.

So here's the thing.  I really want to move back to where my whole family lives.  I would like to rent a house there.  There is no way I'll be able to sell my house as I bought it before the whole real estate crash.  I was wondering if doing a short sale would be a good idea.  I know my credit will suffer but not as much as if I foreclose.  And since my credit is shot anyway I could now rebulid my credit through renting out another home.  I would near family and they could help me and then be able to drive five minutes home and come back in the morning or be able to get to me in five minutes time in an emergency. 

What do you all think?  Has anyone done this before?  How has it worked out for you? 

I know not all lender will agree to a short sale but I hear more of them are now a days.  Plus they say if you have a medical reason that they are more likely to agree to a short sale.

I'm nervous about it but I think I would be SO relieved if I was able to get the help I need and be close to family again.  KWIM?

Any advice would be appreciated. 

[Sluff]

My wife did a short sale in Colorado. I will ask her to get in contact with you here.

[Beth35]

Thank you!

[Lillupie]

Well um,
 We never sold a house, but have tried buy a short sale house, but gave up because we just couldnt wait any longer.
 Have heard that it is a lot easier to sell/buy a house short sale then previous years. THey used to take up to a year to be approved, now I think it is 4  months tops, and that is a long time. We waited for the sellers bank approval for 4 months before we moved on. And my realtor said that was a long time.
 Yes you are right, they are not as bad as a forclosure on your credit. Best advice to you is be patient, patient, patient when selling your home short sale. A lot of people might come in and lowball your home thinking the bank is going to approve of it, and the bank may not always approve of the offer, and then you might start back to square one.

Good luck

[woodsman]

A short sale is a sale of real estate in which the sale proceeds fall short of the balance owed on the property's loan. It often occurs when a borrower cannot pay the mortgage loan on their property, but the lender decides that selling the property at a moderate loss is better than pressing the borrower. Both parties consent to the short sale process, because it allows them to avoid foreclosure, which involves hefty fees for the bank and poorer credit report outcomes for the borrowers. This agreement, however, does not necessarily release the borrower from the obligation to pay the remaining balance of the loan, known as the deficiency.

[FineWhine]

You can call the Hope Hotline, 1-888-995 HOPE. They can give you some guidance.They are on line too at www.995HOPE.org  You need to have your loan number available, and they will ask you for all your expenses, so get that and your income tax forms ready. Any deal you make with the short sale negotiator, make sure it includes no further liability. Find an agent who not only has done "short sales" but also understands people. Too many "short sale" agents tend to be strictly numbers people, not people people. I still have my RE licenses and could refer you, if you want.

Most states have health coverage for people who cannot get insured elsewhere. Why not Medicaid - state health care at least for your foster kids, or Medicare - Federal health care? Hope you find the help you need and I wish you talk to all nice people.

[Willis]

In the USA there's a hidden "gotcha" too you must worry about. If there is a deficiency after a short sale and the financial institution agrees to a settlement and forgives any of the balance due, then income taxes are payable on any amount forgiven as if it was ordinary income. So if you owe $200,000 on your note and sell the house for $180,000 and the bank forgives the $20,000 balance, you will owe income tax on that $20,000.

Yeah, I know, that really sucks... 
 

[KarenInWA]

In the USA there's a hidden "gotcha" too you must worry about. If there is a deficiency after a short sale and the financial institution agrees to a settlement and forgives any of the balance due, then income taxes are payable on any amount forgiven as if it was ordinary income. So if you owe $200,000 on your note and sell the house for $180,000 and the bank forgives the $20,000 balance, you will owe income tax on that $20,000.

Yeah, I know, that really sucks... 
 

And there is the reason why I will never, ever own a home ever again.  I am underwater by at least $40,000, and pay too much a month for the roof over my head.  In addition to mortgage and taxes, I also have to pay condo fees and any special assessments.  Add to that the # of my neighbors who are delinquent on their obligatrions, and this equals the biggest mistake a ckd/esrd patient could make.  It's a bad enough mistake when you have no health problems, it only snowballs when you have health issues.  I am lucky that despite my illness, I am able to work FT, and have a job that pays very well.  But, what if something should happen to my job?  Who is going to hire me, an expensive dialysis patient who is on the waiting list for a kidney?  I am not far from where our friend Beth is, situation-wise, as I'm sure is true for a lot of us on this site.

Where is there help for people in this situation?

KarenInWA