A Hardship Letter is required by all lenders when dealing with the Loss Mitigation Department for a Short Sale

A Hardship Letter is required by all lenders when dealing with the Loss Mitigation Department for a Short Sale.

It looks like there is a lot of Foreclosures in the city of Concord, California. While I was looking at the MLS (Multiple Listing Service for Realtors), I drilled deep down into the data and to no surprise, there is a tremendous amount of Bank Owned Properties (REOs) available in Concord, as well as in Contra Costa County.

What does this mean?

Well, for one thing, savvy buyers, both Real Estate Investors, first time home buyers or anyone desiring to upgrade or downsize their homes, are presented with quite an opportunity to take advantage of the lowest home prices in the area since 1993.

But wait a minute, what is a Hardship Letter and what does that have to do with investors and other Real Estate buyers?

In reality, when selling a property as a Short Sale, the seller has to present their case to the lender as to why they can't pay their mortgage anymore; a Hardship Letter is the tool that explains to the lender their particular circumstances (loss of job, disability, decreased income due to any number of potential reasons) and is required by the lender before they agree to release the property for less than what they are owed. In addition to the Hardship Letter, another requirement by the banks is a Financial Statement, which is a Thermometer or a "complete picture" of the seller's financial position.

Most of these individuals are caught with ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) and their initial period of adjustment has just come up or is about to. Adjustable Rate Mortgages were a good product at the time, and they still are, mostly, because it allows an individual to purchase a home with a lower rate temporarily, but the banks wouldn't keep this lower rate forever, in case that inflation goes up or the lenders whom they borrow from, raise their rates, therefore, the lower rate is only temporary and it could even go down. The best individual to advice you on this subject, is your Mortgage Broker like Mike Mueller of Patagonia Finance, he will explain the options carefully and you must make sure that they are understood.

At the present time, the rates have adjusted upwards, and when a seller needs to "give up the keys", the best thing that they can do is to avoid a complete Foreclosure and try to sell their home as a Short Sale by using a Realtor who specializes in them, otherwise, the property will end up being foreclosed and the credit damages are much longer.

Let's get real, the credit scores and ratings WILL BE affected, however, it's not the end of the world, in time, they will be able to purchase a home again, just keep current on the rest of the credit items that they have. A Realtor® who specializes in Short Sales is the best individual to contact, and he/she should advice the individual to check with an accountant or CPA as well.