Selling your home as a short sale enables you to get out from under a mortgage that is higher than your home’s value. However, short sales can be difficult to close because lenders don’t want to lose money on their loans. Here is how hiring a lawyer can assist you in getting the sale price you want and leaving the closing table happy.

3 Ways a Lawyer Helps Obtain a Short Sale Price

1. Contact the Right Person  

Your lawyer will contact the person at the lender’s office who has the authority to negotiate and approve a short sale price and find out what documentation the lender requires. Establishing contact and maintaining a relationship with this individual helps move the process along, reduces the risk of miscommunication, and helps relieve you of stress.   

2. Establish Hardship

To obtain a short sale approval from your lender, you must show you are under a hardship that prevents you from meeting the loan obligation. An experienced lawyer can frame your circumstances in a way that demonstrates clearly why you cannot continue to pay what is owed.   

3. Show Foreclosure Is a Poor Option

As your advocate, your real estate attorney builds a case on your behalf, showing that a short sale is a better option for the mortgage company than a foreclosure. Working with your real estate agent, the lawyer provides research of comparable sales to and other data to establish that a sale at the offered price will yield more money than if the lender attempts to complete a foreclosure sale.

Selling a home in a short sale can help avoid foreclosure. Hiring a lawyer who is knowledgeable about this type of real estate transaction increases the chance of a successful closing. At Bernardini Law P.C., attorney Christine Bernardini offers Essex County, MA, homeowners a wide range of high-quality real estate law services, including short sale negotiations. Since 2011, she has enabled real property owners to accomplish their goals. Call (978) 794-5525 to schedule a consultation or visit her office's website to learn more about her services.