Each week I spend a little time answering Las Vegas real estate questions for people who have yet to choose an agent, are looking for a second opinion, or couldn't get an answer from their own agent.  Often the questions are asked on sites like trulia and zillow, and I thought why not post my answers on my own blog as well? 

Home is underwater and upside down, spouse died, and am senior citizen. Loan mod refused and now facing foreclosure. Why not walk away?

During the two loan mod trials, they said don't pay the mortgage payments, so we did as told. Spouse was very ill and forced out of work and out of insurance.. During the 2nd trial and two hospital visits, spouse died. All I have now is SS.
Loan mod was refused, despite extreme hardship. Mortgage payment was up to almost $3000. First mod offered to lower to $2800. Ridiculous. Told them to do it again. Second time around was $2400. Now they will not do again and I have no cash to pay for another. Paid the attorneys a ton of cash to no avail. House is now facing foreclosure, got the notice, but they are just fiddling around and haven't done it yet. It's been almost a year.
I have nothing left here.
I have a place to go and don't need this house.
Can someone give me one good reason why I shouldn't walk away?

Answer:

I'm sorry for your loss. While I feel badly for what you are going through, it also makes me angry to hear how uncooperative and unreasonable your lender has been, and just as bad are the attorneys who took your money and failed to help you.

Unfortunately, I often see the same scenario of failed loan modifications and expensive legal fees to attorneys who failed to help. If I could give 1 piece of advice to other people who just getting into trouble with their loans it would be to seek advice from many sources sooner rather than later and especially before paying any money to an attorney or loan mod company. Talk to several attorneys, talk to several real estate agents who specialize in short sales, talk to several loan modification companies (make sure they're licensed).

To answer your question, here are 2 reasons why you may want to consider a short sale instead of just walking away:
1. You may want to explore your options regarding a short sale. If you qualify for the HAFA program or other similar short sale program, you may be eligible to receive up to $3000 from the sale.
2. One of the goals in doing a short sale would be to get the lender to grant "full satisfaction of the debt". Without that, the lender could go after you for the deficiency balance of the loan.

I'm a certified short sale professional. Don't hesitate to give me a call if you'd like some more information.

Damon Botticelli
Realty One Group
(702) 523-7713

Each week I spend a little time answering Las Vegas real estate questions for people who have yet to choose an agent, are looking for a second opinion, or couldn't get an answer from their own agent.  Often the questions are asked on sites like trulia and zillow, and I thought why not post my answers on my own blog as well? 

What is the average discount sellers are making to close the deal on their home?

01/02/2011 - Market Conditions in Summerlin - asked by Jwsale on trulia

Great answer from Bill. To add on that, the average sale price to listing price in Summerlin over the past 12 months was 97.5% for single family homes. So on average sellers discounted 2.5% off the list price. It's also common to allow up to 3% towards the buyer's closing costs, but I don't have the data at hand to back that up.

It's also important to mention that averages mean little to nothing when you're negotiating on a specific property. When you look at average, you're including an 8.9 million dollar house that sold for 7 million, a $180k house that sold for $240k, a $200k home that was gutted and sold for $160k, etc... none of which have anything to do with the home you are either buying or selling.

Every deal is different and that's why the best agents will look carefully at all the details effecting your deal to give you the best possible angle in negotiations.