Have you been on the fence about short selling your home? Embarrassed of what people may think? Fearing what may happen to your credit? These are all bonafide questions one may ask themselves when thinking about a Short Sale. I can tell you this, a short sale is far better than a foreclosure. If you look on my website at one of my earlier blogs, “Foreclosure vs. Short Sale”, you will be the significant differences between the two and why you should almost always chose a short sale over a foreclosure.
I have short sold dozens of distressed properties for people of all income levels, education levels and a variety of different reasons. It may seem stressful at first, however, at the end of the day, it relieves the homeowner of much not needed stress.
I have addressed 5 of the best reasons why one would short sale. Most are facts!
1. Until the end of the year, No taxes on capital gains- Thanks to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation, if a homeowner sells their short of what is owed, and the bank approves and accepts the price, the homeowner is exempt from paying capital gains if the property was used as a primary residence. This also applies to some investment properties. If in California, The California Mortgage Debt Relief law, with some modifications, applies as well to the federal law.
2. The opportunity to purchase another home after a short sale- Again, referring back to my earlier blog, if one successfully sells a home through the short sale process, they could buy another home in as little as 2 years from the closing date. It is a minimum of 7 years with a foreclosure.
3. Financial Incentives to successful seller of short sales- If you qualify, some banks are offering incentives through the HAFA program and private bank programs. Some homeowners are receiving between $3,000- $10,000. Homeowners that are foreclosed on get zip…nada…0$!
4. No Default Judgement! Here in good ol’ California, coupled with Senate Bill 458, a mortgage lender is prohibited from pursuing a deficiency or deficiency judgement following the successful closing of a short sale transaction on a 1-4 unit residential property.
PLEASE REMEMBER! The importance of this blog is to make all homeowners aware of the fact that as of now, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation, is ending at the end of this year. December 31st, 2012! Please act now and call me, Jeff Discher, to discuss your options and to make sure you don’tmiss the boat of opportunity. It could costs you thousands of dollars and stress if you act later than sooner!