Short Sale and Pre-Foreclosure in Salt Lake and Davis County
I have handled short sales for over 20 years, since before the 2008 crisis made them common. A first conversation that costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Waiting is a decision, and it is usually the expensive one
Most people in this situation say some version of the same three things. I will wait and see. I do not want to deal with the bank yet. Maybe the market comes back.
Every one of those is understandable. None of them stops the clock. While nothing appears to be happening, options are quietly closing: the ones that need lead time, the ones that need the lender to still be talking to you, the ones that disappear once a date is filed.
The other thing people say, usually quieter and usually later, is that they did this to themselves. I have sat across the table from a lot of homeowners over 34 years, and that is almost never what happened. A rate reset, a small down payment, a job that moved, a divorce, a market that softened under a home bought at the top. These are circumstances, not character.
You do not need to have decided anything to find out where you stand.
What a short sale actually is
A short sale is a sale where the home is worth less than the balance owed, and the lender agrees to accept less than the full payoff so the sale can close. The lender has to approve it. That approval is the whole job, and it is where most short sales fall apart.
It is not a foreclosure. In a foreclosure the lender takes the home. In a short sale you sell it, on your timeline rather than theirs, with the process in your hands.
Whether a short sale is the right move depends on your numbers, your lender, and what else is available to you. Sometimes it is not the answer. Sometimes there is more equity than the homeowner thought and the right move is an ordinary sale, which is what selling your home covers. The only way to know is to look at the actual figures, and the honest starting point is finding out what the home is worth today.
This page describes how I work. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and decisions like these are worth taking to your own attorney or accountant.
Why the lender side is the part that matters
Any licensed agent can list a home. A short sale is not a listing problem, it is a negotiation with an institution that processes thousands of these and has no particular reason to move quickly on yours.
I have been doing short sales for over 20 years, since before the 2008 crisis made them common, and I have negotiated with Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, smaller lenders and private institutions. I hold the Certified Short Sale Expert (CSSE) designation, which is the one asset managers and hedge funds actually recognise, along with Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR), Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) and Five Star Short Sale certification.
The other half of it is that I work the institutional side of this business too. I have been taking bank-owned (REO) assignments since 2000, held HUD M&M listing broker contracts, and was the listing broker for FDIC and Fannie Mae properties. I have been recognised as the most accurate pricing agent by the largest asset management company servicing Utah, at 97% accuracy between my valuation and the final sale price.
That matters to you for one reason. I know how the people on the other side of your file think, what they need to see, and what makes a package get approved instead of sitting.
How the conversation goes
First, we look at the real numbers. What the home would sell for today, what is owed, and what the gap actually is. No estimate from a website. This part is free and it commits you to nothing.
Then we look at every option, not one. Sometimes there is more equity than expected and an ordinary sale solves it. Sometimes a short sale is right. Sometimes the answer is that you have more time than you thought and should use it differently.
If a short sale is the path, I handle the lender. The package, the valuation they will order, the back and forth, the follow-up. You should not be the one chasing a loss mitigation department.
The home still gets marketed properly. This is the part most short sale listings skip. A distressed sale still gets professional photography, video and a funded advertising campaign, because a stronger offer is what makes the lender say yes. A funded campaign puts the home in front of 36,000 to over 138,000 people. The selling process is the same one I run on any other home.
Nobody can promise you what a lender will decide. Anyone who does is guessing. What I can tell you is where you stand and what each option actually costs you.
Across the cities I serve
I take short sale and pre-foreclosure work across Salt Lake and Davis County, and for asset managers and institutional clients I cover considerably more ground than that.
In Farmington, where I have 171 sales on record and where I live, the homes that most often end up underwater are the ones bought at the top of a cycle east of I-15 in the $550,000 to $1M range. In Kaysville and Centerville, the newer construction filling in between the cities has produced a similar pattern: small down payments on homes bought recently, with little room underneath them.
Wherever the home is, the first conversation is the same, and it is the one that costs nothing. Tell me the situation and I will tell you straight what your options are. If you would rather start by understanding how I work generally, the main page covers it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a short sale ruin my credit?
A short sale does affect your credit, and how much depends on your lender, your overall history and how the account is reported. It is generally treated differently from a foreclosure. Your lender and a credit professional can tell you what applies to your specific account, and that is a question worth asking before you decide anything.
Do I have to pay you?
In most short sales the lender pays the commission out of the sale proceeds as part of approving it, so the seller typically pays nothing out of pocket. Every lender and every file is different, so I will tell you exactly how yours is structured before you commit to anything.
How long does a short sale take?
The listing and offer stage moves at normal speed. The lender approval is the variable, and it depends entirely on the institution and how complete the package is. I will give you a realistic range for your specific lender rather than a number that sounds good.
Is it too late if I have already received a notice?
Often it is not, but the options narrow with each step, and some of them need lead time you may still have today and not next month. Bring me the notice and I will tell you what is still available rather than guessing.
What if I owe more than the house is worth but I am current on payments?
Being underwater and being behind are two different problems, and being current gives you more room, not less. It is worth knowing the real numbers before anything forces the decision for you.
Will my neighbours know?
A short sale is marketed as a normal listing. The financial arrangement between you and your lender is not advertised in the marketing, and I do not discuss a client's situation with anyone who is not part of the transaction.
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