To convince a lender to accept a short sale you must past a hardship test to show the lender you cannot pay the loan. A qualifying hardship is usually one or more of the following:
- Bad health has befallen the borrower or an immediate family member and has crippled personal finances. It’s easy to see why this is a legitimate hardship. Medical bills can quickly wreck a person’s finances.
- Death of a spouse has caused the borrowers income to drop and he/she cannot pay. If the breadwinner of the family dies, most borrowers would be in trouble. In fact, in most two income families, if one earner dies, it is unlikely that the remaining person can afford to stay in the home.
- Divorce has caused the borrowers income to drop and he/she cannot pay. Divorce is expensive and many times requires that the jointly owned home be sold.
- The borrower has been called to active duty in the military and cannot pay. Service men and women may face a big reduction in salary when called to active duty. Lenders recognize this as a true hardship.
- The borrower’s employer has transferred him out of the area and he/she is unable to sell or rent the property. Job relocation is a fact of life for many borrowers. Sometimes it means an increase in income. At other times it means a decrease in income.
- The borrower has suffered a disabling injury and he cannot work. Borrowers set back by disability can easily prove hardship.
- The borrower is unemployed and can’t find a job. Most borrowers are not prepared to handle day to day expenses if they lose their job.
- The borrower is financially insolvent. If the borrower can show that they have the inability to pay, the lender will listen. Remember, they do not want to take the home back in foreclosure.
The borrower must be able to document real hardship. The lender will not agree to a short sale just because the borrower owes more than the home is worth and simply wants out. The borrower must be able to prove that there is no way for them to be able to afford to keep the home.
(Copyright © 2007 By Dan Forbes, All Rights Reserved.)
