Archive for the ‘Selling Real Estate’ Category
What is a Short Sale?
Everything that is tall and long is composed of short and small pieces.
For real estate owners who can no longer afford to keep current on their mortgage payments, a short sale is an alternative to foreclosure that can help preserve their credit and avoid bankruptcy.
A short sale is when a distressed seller finds a purchaser who is willing to buy their property for less than what is owed to the lender (bank) and the bank accepts less than what is owed on the mortgage in full settlement of the seller’s obligations to avoid having to foreclose on the property.
It may seem counterintuitive, but a lender may not want to foreclose on a property because the foreclosure process is expensive and time-consuming for the lender. In today’s market with foreclosures on the rise, lenders are becoming more and more willing to negotiate short sales.
Real estate agents may be enlisted by sellers who are at risk of being foreclosed to help market their properties and find potential purchasers. And just as in any sale, brokers are entitled to commissions on the short sales of properties. Read the rest of this entry »
Do you know what your closing costs will be when you sell real estate?
“Selling your apartment in New York is like dating a manic-depressive.. you get used to cycles of elation and despondency. Every time someone would come to see the apartment, there was the thrill of the date. You want to be presentable, so you clean the place up, make sure it smells good, put on some mood lighting and mellow music.” -Anderson Cooper
After all the work you put in to selling your property, nobody wants any surprises at the closing table, so it’s important for sellers to know what to expect in closing costs when selling real estate.
In general, Sellers typically spend about 5-8% of the sales price in closing costs if the sale was brought about by a real estate broker; if no broker is involved, the costs usually run about 1-2% of the sales price.
Here’s a schedule we put together that shows estimated closing costs when selling real estate. Remember, these are just estimates and they focus on our local area - be sure to review your costs with your attorney to find out what they’ll be in your area. Read the rest of this entry »