Everybody is struggling to make the payments but there is a time when you just can´t do it anymore or it does not make any financial sense.

That´s when you look at your overall situation and have to make the tough decision to sell your house or condo.

Real estate in our area has lost a lot of value over the last few years. Sometime 40% or 50% here in Saint Petersburg, Tampabay, we are pretty much back to 2001 or 2003 prices.

So let´s say you bought your home for $200,000 and had an 80% - $160,000 financing and a year later (property values were going up and up) you got another $50,000 equity line from the bank.. Now you owe the bank a total of $210,000. Looking at the comparable sales in your neighborhood over the last few months, it is crystal clear that nobody is going to pay more than $150,000 for your property.

Well, now you are looking at $60,000 that you are short to the bank and maybe another $10,000 or $15,000 in closing cost. Lucky you if you have these $70 or $75,000 under your pillow or can take it out of the stock market and bring it to closing.

But for most Sellers in Saint Petersburg the reality is a little different and it is called Short Sale or pre foreclosure.

As a homeowner in St. Pete, faced with a Short Sale situation your brain is kind of blocked for some time, yes, you know this is the logical option that you have, but we human beings sometimes just do not want to face the harsh reality.

We tend to stick our heads in the sand and think it somehow might blow over. . . Unfortunately it never does.

At one point we have to face the situation and trust me, the sooner the better.

Sometimes, you have given it your best but there are circumstances that you cannot control and you can´t do anything about.

So, instead of going to bed every night worrying what is going to happen and how you will go on, make a decision, face the problem and get it done and over with.

The sooner this chapter in your life is closed the sooner you can start over and have a new beginning. You will feel so much better once your property is listed – I promise that.

So, now that we have made the decision, the first thing we do is call the bank, it might be a bit aggravating to get to the right person but the first rule in a short sale situation is "do not get frustrated" Once you have reached someone, ask them if you qualify for a loan modification.

If you don't qualify, let them know that you can´t make your mortgage payments anymore and that you have to sell the property and it looks like a short sale.

The bank will not say YES or No but they will tell you to get a St. Petersburg Short Sale Realtor and list the property.

It would be wonderful if you could hire a St. Petersburg Real Estate agent to take care of the listing and a lawyer to do all the paperwork etc. Most likely, if you cannot make your mortgage payment, you will not have the money to pay a lawyer.

So, the Realtor it is.

I know, you are still stressed out about all this and don´t really want to deal with it, but it is important that you spend some time to find a Short Sale Realtor here in St. Petersburg for you and your situation.

Meet with him or her and get a feeling for them.

I believe in honesty and reality. So, I would choose someone that is not afraid to tell me what the Short Sale situation really looks like, what the short sale process is all about and how much I can expect to sell my home for.

It is better to get the shock right away instead of dragging it out and get the truth piece by piece. Find someone that tells you, Hey this is not going to be a walk in the park, but we can do this. Do not go for the agent that promises you the highest sales price or one that is so negative that it brings you down even more.

Use some common sense.

You want your Realtor to be straight forward, to understand your St. Petersburg Short Sale situation and to be aggressive and positive.

Most important, choose a Realtor that works for you in a single agent relationship NOT as a Transaction broker. I cannot stress this point enough. Ask them before you sign anything!!! Make sure you understand the difference.

Next step is signing a listing agreement and putting the house on the market.

Do not worry about the commission, in a short sale the bank will ultimately decide how much the Realtor gets and most likely it is different than in your listing agreement.

Anyway, I have to say one thing loud and clear

"In a Short Sale, Time is not on your site"

Every day that passes by cost you more. In four ways,

1. The maintenance, taxes, insurance, electric etc for the house has to be paid.
2. The unpaid loan amount gets higher and higher and higher every day.
3. The value of the home in today´s market is going down by the day,
4. Your life is on hold, every day that passes by is a lost day on your future.

So, I know it is difficult, but you have to get going on it.

The market in Saint Petersburg Tampabay is not getting any better anytime soon.

Back to the actual short sale process.

• You have not made your mortgage payments,
• you have contacted the bank,
• you have found a Short Sale Realtor here in Saint Petersburg
• the house is listed.

Now a few things happen at the same time.

You will get a "Notice of Default" NOD from the bank and you might get daily phone calls from them, yes, the bank you never heard from in the last 5 years is now calling you all the time, trying to collect their money.

Stay friendly; explain that you are already in touch with the bank and that the home is listed for sale. (and the phone calls will stop)

In the meantime you have to fill out a "package." Your Realtor, or even better the Short Sale negotiator that your Realtor is working with, will get the Short Sale package for you.

The bank wants a ton of information and bank statements and pay stubs and and and.

Fill it out ASAP, do not procrastinate, remember time is not on your site!

Now you get an offer on your property and most likely you will get a heart attack, it is lower than you ever thought in your wildest dreams.

Hopefully your Realtor prepared you for this situation.

You will be very upset and your first reaction is NO I am not giving the house away.

You will be offended and disappointed.

My best advice, Sleep on it, sit down with your Realtor the next day and talk it over. The buyer did not want to offend you, all they are looking for is a "great deal" and they are trying..

Here in Saint Petersburg Tampabay if a buyer has to deal with all the Short Sale uncertainties, and hurdles and unknowns, they want to get the best deal. In the end, the way I see it, you as the seller does not determine market value, nor does the Realtor or the buyer. It is up to the appraiser and the bank – BPO Broker’s price opinion.

That brings us to the next step.

Once you have accepted an offer, it is forwarded to the bank and they will send out an appraiser, he is the one that tells the bank what the fair market value is.

The banks look at it and if the offer is anywhere in that range, they might accept it or counter it. By the way, when you accept an offer it does not mean that the home will be sold.

In a short sale situation you accept the offer contingent upon third party (the lender) approval. If the bank says NO, you cannot sell.

So far so good, but let's not forget the "behind the curtain" and by that I mean the negotiation with the bank, will they forgive the balance owed or not?

Before anything is finalized, you want to know what is going on, will they let you off the hook or do you end up with a huge depth?

The most important part in the Short Sale process is the negotiation with the bank and trust me, I have yet to see a bank that is easy to work with.

So, stay in touch with your Realtor and your Short Sale negotiator.

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I know this is just a brief overview of Short sales and pre foreclosures in St. Pete and you will have a ton of other questions and concerns.

Let me say this, here in Saint Petersburg every bank is different, and every

is different, nobody in this game, neither you nor the bank nor your Realtor really likes to deal with a Short Sale and wants to be in the situation, but we have no choice, we need to deal with it and get it done.

Like I said before, it is not a walk in the park, it can be very stressful, frustrating and emotional, but there is no way around it and with the right Short Sale Realtor on your site you will get it done. In the end it will feel good to get this burden off your shoulders and start fresh.

I know we did not cover everything in this little write up, but you can call us anytime if you are faced with a Short Sale situation here in the Saint Petersburg Tampabay.

Will the bank forgive the difference between the loan amount and the sales price?

Maybe is the best answer I can give you. It all depends on the bank, your financial situation and the negotiations with the bank. They might forgive all of it; they might forgive part of it. Every short sale here in St. Petersburg is different and handled differently. Once we meet with you we can tell you much more about “YOUR” specific situation.

W H Y we are successful with short sales or pre foreclosure listings here in Saint Petersburg Tampabay.

Most of all, we care!

• We know the local Saint Petersburg Tampabay real estate market and we know Short Sales.
• We will not give you any false hope, or a ton of sugar coated excuses, we tell it as it is and help you get out of this situation as fast as we can.
• We do not play around, we do not waste time, we make the short sale process as efficient as possible.
• We do our homework before we meet with you for the first time.
• We explain the whole short sale process to you and give you all the information you need to get through this.
• We answer our phone, we call back and we update you every step of the way in the Short Sale or pre foreclosure process.

Once you have made the decision and your home is listed with us, we take over and you can concentrate on getting your life back on track.

We work Short Sales in the greater Saint Petersburg Tampabay area, like Seminole or Largo, Madeira beach, Gulfport, Treasure Island, St. Pete Beach, Redington beach, South Pasadena, Indian Rocks and Indian Shores pretty much everywhere south of Ulmerton Road.

Call us today.

We are on YOUR side.

We can answer your Short Sale questions over the phone or meet with you in person for a free Short Sale consultation.

Anne Hensel             727 410 7777

Manny Baginski        727 399 9990

Short Sales and Foreclosure Saint Petersburg, Short Sales and Foreclosure Treasure Island, Short Sales and Foreclosure Madeira beach, Short sale Realtor