What are some of the advantages of a short sale over a foreclosure?

User question: I am upside down on my home and trying to decide whether I should try to short sale it or just let it foreclose back to the bank. Can you please share the advantages of short selling the home. Thanks for the information in your previous response's to others questions. Sounds like you guys really know what you are talking about.

Answer from blueroof.com: I want to thank you for your compliment and I hope we can answer your question sufficiently.

The easiest thing to do in your situation is to sit back and let the bank foreclose on the home. However, the long term effects of a foreclosure can be devastating to you.

The likelihood of getting financing for a car, house, or most anything else goes down dramatically once there is a foreclosure on your record.

Since foreclosure is the worst case scenario, we feel it is ALWAYS better to attempt the short sale and try to minimize the long term effects to your credit and overall situation.

Of course not every short sale will go through but at least you tried to come to some other solution and the effects were the same as if you had done nothing.

Also, with many banks holding off on foreclosures right now, they seem to be very motivated to get short sales pushed through.

If you do choose to attempt a short sale, let me give you some things to look for when choosing the right company to handle it for you:

1. Make sure that they have experience with short sales. Nothing is worse than an inexperienced real estate agent working a short sale. If you needed surgery to save your life you would want a doctor that has performed that surgery before. Same thing. Find someone who knows what they are doing.

2. Check the support the agent has with the short sale. The process is long, tedious, and time-consuming. An agent that does everything themselves can be pulled in many different directions. Find a team where you have an agent, a negotiator, and maybe an assistant or two. his will help make sure that someone is available for you and the work is getting done.

3. You may want to think twice about using a friend or family member that is an agent. Giving your friend or family all your financial information and other details of your life you may prefer to be kept confidential can be awkward. Also, working with family and friends in a stressful situation like yours can tend to dampen your relationship.

I hope the information is useful to you and I hope that the situation works out for the best for you. If you need any recommendations of agents that specialize in short sales we will be happy to get you in touch with the right people.

*Nothing here is considered to be legal or tax advice. Any and all questions regarding tax or legal issues need to be directed to an appropriate and licensed professional.

Joe Duffin
Managing Broker for Blue Roof Realty

Please note that ABC15.com, and its paying advertiser blueroof.com which answered this question, are not qualified to offer tax advice and the best path to take in any situation regarding income taxes is to speak with a professional tax preparer or CPA.