The Case for Walking Away, Short Sales v. Foreclosure

Octavion — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:31:00 GMT

Housing Crisis Upside: Bargains for Everyone
ABC News
January 12, 2009

Real estate watchers have been saying it for months now: It's a buyer's market and it's only getting better. "It really is almost a national situation where we can find you at least one good deal almost everywhere," said Rick Sharga, the vice president of marketing for the foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac.

FDIC Pushes Banks for Reports on Use of Government Aid
Wall Street Journal
January 12, 2009

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Monday pushed the more than 5,000 banks it regulates to provide information on how they are using billions of dollars in government aid to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The Case for Walking Away
Newsweek
January 12, 2009

In January, we're supposed to sit down and organize our personal finances. This year I'll risk my good-girl reputation with a subversive idea: go bankrupt in 2009. If you're reaching the end of your rope, don't try to hold on. Save what you can.

Short Sale v. Foreclosure
Wall Street Journal
January 12, 2009

Is it better to negotiate with a short seller or look for houses already owned by the bank? But bear in mind that in the case of both short sales and bank-owned homes you are negotiating with lenders rather than sellers. In a short sale, the seller might be desperate to accept any offer to avoid foreclosure, but that doesn't matter if the primary and junior lien holders don't agree to it. With bank-owned properties, you will be dealing with the "real-estate owned" or REO department of the lender who took ownership of the house at the auction. In both cases, you should be prepared to be patient, since lenders are overwhelmed with distress sales these days and may take weeks to respond to your offer.

Foreclosure community blog resource powered by RealtyTrac : Short Sale, Foreclosure Auctions, RealtyTrac

The Case for Walking Away, Short Sales v. Foreclosure