Short Sale Hardship Letters

If you’ve been researching how to do a short sale on your home, you’ve probably heard of terms like “hardship letter” but weren’t sure what that meant. A hardship letter is your simple letter to the bank describing why you are unable to pay the mortgage and asking them to make special consideration for you by accepting your short sale.

What will you need to get started with the process of negotiating a short sale on your home?

When I work with home owners who are facing foreclosure and who want to pursue a short sale, I take them through this process, and even do everything for them, as much as possible.  Once I get the paperwork from you, there’s not a lot else that you will need to do.

The fact is, every lender is different, but the majority of them have a fair degree of overlap in their short sale negotiation process – I should know, I’ve helped quite a few home owners wind their way through this bramble-patch of bank delays, and follow-up.

It can be quite a hassle, and quite time-consuming which is why it’s nice to work with a short sale negotiator like me who knows how to gently apply pressure to the banks to make sure your short sale paperwork isn’t lost in a big stack of files on some loss mitigator’s desk, only to be found after it’s too late to stop the foreclosure on your house.

So, in addition to a hardship letter, there are some other things I will need from you to start your short sale negotiation with your lender.

Papers You Need To File A Short Sale

1. Hardship Letter – thoroughly explain the reason for delinquency and / or default.

2. Copy of your signed tax returns including W-2′s for the last 2 years and/or 1099′s with all schedules for each borrower listed on the loan and / or copies of signed filing extensions including W-2′s and / or 1099′s for the tax year(s) not yet filed.

3. Copy of your year end pay stub and the four most recent pay stubs for each borrower on the loan.

4. Copies of your Personal Checking Account Statements for each borrower on the loan for the last six months. If  mortgagor(s) are self employed, (6) months Business Checking statements and Year to Date profit and Loss Statement are required.

5. Copy of either proof of paid property taxes or property tax redemption calculation statement and Copy of the Declaration Page of the Homeowner’s Insurance Policy.

6. *** If borrower is in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy Proceedings, a letter from the federal  Bankruptcy Trustee allowing the sale or refinance of the property is required. If borrower is discharged under Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings, a copy of the Discharge Letter is required.

Confused – Don’t Be – Call Me And I’ll Help

If this sounds confusing, don’t get overwhelmed, just give me a call.  I’ve actually sat down with people in their kitchen to sort through the big box of papers they have with all their house documents, so we can find just what we need to send in to the bank.  Don’t get overwhelmed, just give me a call and I will come over and help you get going with your short sale.