What is a Short Sale?

 

Video Summary

A short sale occurs when the buyer of a property gets behind on payments and, rather than enter the foreclosure process, he attempts to sell the property for less than the amount owed. “Short” refers to the difference between the sale price and the amount owed on the mortgage(s). Many properties are being sold as short sales now because of the recent dip in home values. MLS listings usually indicate when a property is a short sale. The lender must agree to the sale price of the property and agree to negotiate with the original buyer as to whether the debt will be given or there will still be a debt. The process can take a very long time to negotiate a sale price and terms that the lender, the borrower, and the new buyer can agree on.

 

Read more
No Comments

Do I Need a Lawyer to Buy a House?

 

Video Summary

A board-certified real estate attorney will be able to represent your interests as the purchaser of a house. Your attorney can advise you in the purchase of the house, checking the title, and some of the non-legal matters involved, such as inspections, checking the title, history of possible sinkholes, existence of open permits, land surveys, etc. The attorney can also help you understand the terms of the Title Commitment.

If you are interested in legal representation to buy a house, please call us at (727) 847-2288.

Read more
No Comments

How Will a Short Sale Affect my Credit?

 

Video Summary

A short sale itself will not have as much of an effect on your credit as will the period leading up to the short sale. Every late payment on your mortgage will have a detrimental effect on your credit score. A higher credit score will drop more quickly.

Currently, lenders are not inclined to begin negotiating a short sale until the borrower is at least two months late. The short sale process takes 3 to 4 months or longer to complete, so by the time it is complete you will likely have at least 5 or 6 instances of 30-day late payments which will hurt your credit score.

When a short sale is completed, the loan may show “paid as agreed” or “paid off.” Waller & Mitchell is not qualified to advise you as to the effect on your credit score at that time. Another factor affecting your credit is whether you are paying your other debts in a timely fashion.

After selling your house by short sale, you will be unable to obtain a mortgage from a federally insured lending institution for at least two years. In some cases, it may take as long as 4 years. However, if the property is foreclosed rather than sold in a short sale, the minimum time before you may be able to obtain a mortgage from a federally insured lending institution is 4 years.

If you have questions about short selling your house, please call us at (727) 847-2288.

Read more
No Comments

How Do I Buy or Sell a Property “As-Is”?

 

Video Summary

I’m often asked to prepare contracts that say a property is in “as-is” condition. The seller wants to be sure that the buyer cannot come back later and say that there is a problem with the property and sue them for any deficiencies in the property so they want to make it “as-is” so that whatever the buyer sees when he purchases the property is what he gets and the buyer does not have recourse to sue the seller later on if there are any problems with the property. A contract will provide for an inspection period to give the buyer a time period in which to inspect the property, after which time they either accept the property or withdraw from the contract. However, a seller does have the obligation under Florida law to disclose to a buyer any matters that may materially affect the value of the property and are not readily observable. This would include anything you wouldn’t normally see just by walking through the property, such as roof repairs, previous fire or sinkhole damage, etc. With an as-is contract, the seller still has an obligation to disclose to the buyer any matters that may materially affect the property and is not insulated from liability if they fail to do so.

If you have a question about a contract or would like me to represent you, please call us at (727) 847-2288. Thank you.

Read more
No Comments

What is a Quitclaim Deed?

 

Video Summary

A Quitclaim Deed is a form of conveyance whereby the person is transferring whatever interest they have in a property with no warranties. They do not state or warrant that they have any interest in the property. To give an example, I could sign a quitclaim deed for your house, although I have no ownership in it, and give it to a third party. I’m not stating that I have any ownership interest in your house, therefore I would be conveying no title in the property and would have no liability to transfer the deed to someone else, other than clouding the title, which could become a problem for you.

On the other hand, if I gave you a quitclaim deed to property that I own, I would be conveying marketable title or clear title to the property, or whatever interest I may have, whether it be subject to a mortgage or not.

So a Quitclaim Deed is simply a form of conveyance or a deed that says I convey whatever interest I may have in the property to you, whether it be no interest or a good title to the property. If you’re interested in us handling your real estate transactions or preparing deeds for you, give us a call at (727) 847-2288.

Read more
No Comments