November 7, 2012

                Have you considered a modification of your loan, or a short sale?  Either one will require that you provide the lender with a lot of documents they will be requiring.  It has been my experience, that  these documents are asked for more than once, so keep a file, and save your letters on a computer for easy access.  (It seems they ask for the hardship letter every 6 weeks or so… with a new date each time, and any changes in your situation.)

                Some of the items the lenders have asked for:

                Hardship letter (why are you not able to pay your mortgage?);

                2 months of your bank statements;

                2 months of your current payroll stubs, or unemployment statements;

                The last two years of your tax returns;

                A copy of a recent utility bill in your name for the property.

                There will be forms to fill out, and they will be different for the modification program than they are for the short sale program.  None of it transfers to a different department, so make your copies easily available.

                I have recently spoken to a few lenders, to find out if it is really better for your credit score to go through a Short Sale process, than to let it go in the foreclosure process.  You should do your own inquiries from a variety of lenders to get a better understanding of this.  I can’t give you tax or legal advise.  I am a licensed Real Estate Broker in Ca.

                My experience has been that even if there is a notice of foreclosure, with a date a few weeks away, that once it was listed for sale, we got a postponement to market the property for sale.  This year, I have worked on Short Sales with the following banks:  Chase Bank, Wells Fargo (formally Wachovia), I think Wachovia took over World Savings and/or Golden State Savings which then went to Wells Fargo also, Bank of America, ING Bank, and Provident Funding.

                I understand your frustration, and have been able to help others with some of this.  Please call me for a confidential interview, or to list your home for sale, and do a short sale.

Thank you,

Catherine Hogan

DRE#00597940

415-459-1550 Ext. 111

www.madisoncompanyrealtors.com

34 years selling homes in Marin