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With America's real estate market in a frantic tailspin, we are seeing more and more homeowners turn to short sales in Phoenix, Arizona as a solution to avoid foreclosure. Within the confines of this article we will give attention to the ten most frequently asked questions regarding shorts sales. Short sales, in our professional opinion, are the best option available to the general public. However, each situation is different for each home owner and their family. So, it is in your best interest to find the option to avoid foreclosure that will work best for you. Be informed about all of the options and weigh them against your specific situation. Now, on to those questions about short sales
1. What are Short Sales?
Short sales are when homeowners who owe more money to the bank on their mortgage loan than the current market value of the home and the bank approves of selling the home for less than the pay off amount. As an example, Bob Smith in Phoenix, AZ owes $250,000 on his mortgage and his home has a value of $170,000. This is referred to as an upside down mortgage. These types of homes are the perfect candidates for short sales to help the home owner get out of the property and the mortgage debt.
2. Why would a lender accept taking a loss in short sales?
The lender, bank, or mortgage company agrees to take a loss because, in the long haul they will save money. Whether the home is in pre foreclosure or foreclosure, the bank is getting no money for it. Furthermore, if they have to foreclose on it, legal fees and other hassles eat away at the eventual price the bank will get at foreclosure sale. Consider one step further, at foreclosure sale a home gets far less than it would get if it short sales. Take this idea yet another step and consider that the money from the short sale of the home can be borrowed to someone else that WILL pay off their debt. Hopefully, by now, you understand that it is in their best interest for banks to support short sales from the very first time that the home owner mentions the words. They are so inclined to support short sales that they often forgive the remaining balance between the sale price and the mortgage pay off amount. But, we must caution, in short sales, it is at the lenders discretion whether they choose to forgive the remainder or not. They have the legal right to collect the difference from you (but don't be too alarmed, you were facing a potential foreclosure. So, they understand that legal action against you will more than likely yield nothing).

For more videos on short sales check out Kevin and Fred on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.

The main thing you need to know about a short sale transaction is that you can sell your house for less than you owe on the mortgage and walk away from it. Beyond that, there are a number of steps that should be taken before you can short sale your home in Queen Creek, AZ.
Economy in this country is a dirty word these days. Some studies reveal that more that more than fifty percent of all homes in Queen Creek, Arizona are in upside down mortgage situations (where the home is worth less than the mortgage). Much of this is a result of two factors, poor lending practices and a weak housing market.
With many homeowners affected by one or both of these factors, foreclosures are at an all time high. So, the best way to avoid the frightening foreclosure is to use a short sale to get rid of your burdening mortgage and your devalued home.
With a short sale, the home owner must gain approval from the bank to sell the home for less than the value of the mortgage. The bank can choose to refuse such a sale or any offer that may come as a result of the short sale. However, given the state of the economy, banks are much more accepting of the short sale because they do not want to take possession of your home through foreclosure.
If you are one of the unfortunate individuals that is considering a short sale, it is best to find a real estate agent that has experience working with short sales. You will also need to get your house appraised. Then, with your appraisal in hand, put the house on the market. Your hope for a quick sale will probably be met as many investors are searching for these bargain properties to bolster their portfolio.
One of the goals of your short sale should be to get the lender that holds your mortgage to issue a judgment of "Payment in Full". Doing so, means that they will accept the sale price of the home as full payment of your mortgage. It is well within their rights to require the home owner to pay the remaining balance on the mortgage. So, the use of a real estate agent in facilitating a short sale transaction can help you gain the payment in full judgment that you desire.
With the dyer situation that many home owners are in, the rise in foreclosures, and the importance of a good credit score, the short sale is a great option for many home owners that find themselves in financial trouble. Finding a real estate expert with experience dealing with short sale transactions can help you through the process.

Watch Kevin and Fred, Short Sale Specialists, on the Short Sale Power Hour. Video for Short Sale Specialists.

Are you currently considering purchasing a Pre Foreclosure home in Phoenix, Arizona for an investment or to live in? there are several items that need to be weighed and thought about before you jump in head first. How do you find a property in Pre Foreclosure? How do you introduce yourself to the other party in a Pre Foreclosure sale? How do you negotiate with people that are dealing with a Pre Foreclosure situation?
There are many ways to find Pre Foreclosure properties. One of the more popular ways is through the local newspaper. Check in the public notice section. Look for the phrase, "intent to sell" which can lead you to prospective homes in the Pre Foreclosure process. You can virtually ignore the Notice of Default section of the paper because the home owners in these situations could decide that they want to keep their home still Usually an intent to sell with give you an address, auction date and time, and other relevant information. It is always in your best interest to visit the house before the auction to check on the general condition before the sale.
However, there is another way to seek out homes in Pre Foreclosure in Phoenix, AZ. This other way is a relatively quiet process. Often times, home owners that find themselves in Pre Foreclosure may choose to short sell their home. A short sale works to the benefit of the bank and the current home owner. However, the short sale can work to your benefit to, whether you are looking for a home to live in or a home to invest in, the short sell during the Pre Foreclosure process can be a gold mine. Here is why...
-during a Pre Foreclosure short sale, the home owner is selling the home for less than the mortgage that they have on the home with the hopes and probability that the bank will forgive the outstanding debt on the mortgage. This creates a very motivated seller.
-Also, because the home is in Pre Foreclosure, the bank understands that the home is only a few short steps from foreclosure. And because banks do not want to take possession of homes, this creates a very motivated lender that wants to see the home sold.
-And lastly, with a Pre Foreclosure short sale, the home is generally in good condition, because the home owner has not abandoned the property with the thinking that a foreclosure is a certainty.
Given these two conditions, it is in your best interest to find a real estate agent that deals with Pre Foreclosure short sales and notify them that you are in the market for a home. They will probably have a list of homes available for short sale at their fingertips.

Watch Kevin Kauffman and Fred Weaver of Group 46:10, Short Sale Specialists, on the daily Short Sale Power Hour.

6. How long after short sales can a home owner buy another house?
There is exciting news in Phoenix, Arizona regarding this question. Recently implemented programs give us a great answer to this frequently asked question. There exists now, a new loan program specifically tailored for people who used short sales to sell their homes. You can have the opportunity to purchase a new home by applying for a home loan in as little as two years provided that you meet much of the same criteria that you have to meet for a traditional home loan. In case you are wondering in Phoenix, AZ, those criteria are maintaining a good credit history, maintaining a good payment history on all of your debts, keeping your debt to income ratio at an acceptable rate as stated through common lending guidelines and have a verified source of income. Does that criteria sound a bit familiar?
7. When considering short sales, what does the bank consider that qualifies as a financial hardship?
This question has endless possibilities. However, there are many different types of hardships that almost any lender, bank or mortgage company will widely accept as "qualified" hardships. Those valid hardships include, but are not limited to...
* Mortgage rate adjustments - as is commonly seen with the adjustable rate mortgages that were so popular among home buyers five to ten years ago
* Increase in monthly expenses - which is admittedly more difficult to show in a hardship letter, but with inflation rising as it has and wages not keeping pace with inflation, this reason is becoming ever more popular
* Need to move - a fairly cut and dry reason, usually coupled with the fact that selling your home at a profitable price is almost impossible due to the crash of the real estate market
* Reduced Income - one of the most commonly sited hardships, especially in recent months with corporate wage cuts and reduction in hours
* Unemployment - like reduced income, this reason is popping up in hardship letters with more and more frequency.
* Health issues - not a common hardship, but doctors are requesting that patients move to other climate friendly areas of the country with more and more frequency. This hardship does not include medical expenses (as you will see below)
* Separation or Divorce - take half of a home's income away from the home and trying to pay the mortgage is nearly impossible.
* Medical Bills - rising health care costs, coupled with reduced health care benefits, with just a sprinkle of less quality care and you have the makings of a medical bills hardship
* Business Failure - businesses have always failed more often than they have succeeded, but when the economy goes in down the drain, this problem just becomes worse
* Business cutbacks or downsizing - very related to unemployment hardships, with a few minor differences
* Death of a Spouse - much like divorce, when you take away half of the household income, it is tough to pay the mortgage
* A valid reason you are unable to make your mortgage payment - lump everything else in this category

Short sale homes are homes in which a home owner is able to keep from going into foreclosure buy selling the home for less than the mortgage is worth. Generally, this happens in the pre foreclosure stage or sometimes even before that if the home owner knows that they will have difficulty paying their mortgage very soon. Short sale homes give the home owner a much better outlook after they are free from their mortgage because their credit is not damaged like it would be if the home went to foreclosure.
Usually with short sale homes in Phoenix, Arizona, the home owner needs to contact the lender to get their approval. The lender usually agrees to short sale homes because they understand that their loss will be great if they have to take possession of the property through foreclosure and sell the home themselves.
When the bank agrees to short sale homes the have a much less expensive process and a much quicker process than if they were to go to foreclosure. Byers of short sale homes will usually work with the lender in the negotiation process to come to terms with the mortgage that satisfies the bank. Basically a buyer of short sale homes is buying the debt from the old mortgage. In a growing number of short sale homes, the bank will forgive the previous home owner of the remaining debt so that they can complete the deal. However, it is important to note that with the short sale homes in Phoenix, AZ, the home owner can still be held responsible for the remaining debt. The lender will usually take the home owners financial situation into account when they make this decision.
The lender is the only party that has the final say in completing short sale homes. When home owners short sale homes, the sales are not governed by any agency or the government. Short sale homes are growing in numbers with the recently troubled housing market.
So, if you are an investor or a home owner that is in trouble, you should strongly consider and research all of the short sale homes that are and have been on the market. Most troubled home owners are usually very motivated to avoid foreclosure. So, short sale homes can make a great bargain for investors.
Short sale homes are a great benefit to the lenders also. You have to remember that banks are not in the real estate market. They are in the money market. So, there is not a bank in the world that WANTS to take possession of a home. Short sale homes give them a way out just like they do for the home owner. The lenders do not want to keep trying to honor their side of a mortgage contract that the home owner is not willing to (or can't) honor. When a home owner stops paying the mortgage, the bank gets no money. So, short sale homes help them recover at least some of the money that they have lost. Furthermore, foreclosures can be very costly to banks. So, short sale homes help banks keep their costs low.

California short sales help homeowners in trouble in this global recession. Although many people have been affected worldwide, it seems California residents have been greatly hurt, because of its real estate bubble burst. Over the years, Californian homes and properties have seen a huge increase, which peaked and then went on a steep decline.

This left many homeowners who purchased these properties in their peak prices with mortgages now higher than the actual market price. Now, with the economy hurting and record job losses, these homeowners are unable to make these high mortgage payments.

This in turn has left the these property owners between a rock and a hard place. Knowing full well how damaging, falling back on payments can be on your credit score, they are trying to save themselves by selling their homes. Unfortunately for them, in order for the home to sell, it must be priced according to market value, which are their prices are inflated for the current market. That leaves them pondering foreclosure.

Fortunately, foreclosure is not the only solution. Many people can actually benefit from the California short sale. The difference is, upon the approval of your mortgage lender, the homeowner is enabled to sell his property at a lower price than the actual mortgage amount. Obviously, this leaves a loss behind that someone must absorb. In many cases, the mortgage lender will approve such a deal as long as the homeowner is willing to absorb some of the losses. But this is not always the case, as every situation is individual and unique.

In order for a short sale to be successful, your mortgage payment must be in arrears, and the amount owed on the home must surpass the current market price of the home. Then, along with finding a real estate agent who is willing to do a short sale (accepting a lower commission), your mortgage lender must be approached.

A short sale package from the lender must be requested, completed and files along with necessary documents that should be attached. Those documents include but are not limited to the previous year's income tax returns, recent bank statements, recent pay stubs, and the deed of the home.

You will find that your mortgage lender or banker will be willing to help in such difficult times. For them, absorbing a loss involved with a short sale is often lower than if the property were to be foreclosed. Contrary to what many people believe, lenders are not in business to take over properties, they are in business to make money. With that said, foreclosing on properties is a very expensive and time-consuming procedure which many would prefer to avoid.

In closing, if you find yourself in difficult financial times and qualify for short sale, you should not only consider it a go ahead with it. It means the difference between your credit score being somewhat damaged and completely destroyed. In these hard times, you should know that it will not be easy to rebuild if your credit has been destroyed.

California Short Sales a comprehensive guide on how short sales help homeowners in trouble. All the facts now on http://www.nphsrealestate.org/Short-sale/California

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Do you currently find yourself behind on your mortgage and facing an impending foreclosure? Are you living in fear that you may not be able to avoid foreclosure and soon find yourself without a place to call home in Queen Creek, Arizona? Is it possible that you will have to find yourself residing in a place that is new and uncomfortable to you? You need to know that there are several ways to avoid foreclosure and save you house from being foreclosed on. You just need to know the options that are available, what you watch for and what needs to be done going forward. The following are several options available to you. Not all of them are great options, but none the less, they are options. Carefully weigh them and determine which is the best for you.
Loan Modification, the option worth considering
To avoid foreclosure in Queen Creek, AZ, consider contacting your mortgage lender and request a loan modification. This option is alright for those that are not quite making the payments on their existing mortgage. Many times, to avoid foreclosure by using loan modifications, you must meet several requirements. You will need to take the total amount of your mortgage, insurance, and taxes and compare them to your income. If they are more than thirty percent of your income, you may qualify for a modification to avoid foreclosure. However, you may also be required to be in a financial bind that there is not an immediate resolution to.
Bankruptcy, the option to NOT consider
To avoid foreclosure, you can file bankruptcy. This does some major damage to your credit score and can effect your ability to do a multitude of things that could lie in your future. So, while there are very few reasons to consider this a true option, it is, none the less, still an option to avoid foreclosure.
Short Sale of your home, the BEST Option
The short sale of your home is a unique and fairly unknown way to avoid foreclosure. The short sale helps you get the most out of a bad situation. Mortgage lenders will often, though sometimes reluctantly, find this to be the best option for their interests also. So, the short sale is a win/win situation for the lender and the home owner. Here's a brief synopsis of how it works. The home owner, facing a mortgage that is far greater than the value of the home or facing a mortgage that they can not afford to pay, finds a buyer for their home. The buyer agrees to a price for the home that will not pay off the existing mortgage. The bank, wanting to recoup as much in the sale of the home as they can, will also choose to avoid foreclosure and forgive the remainder of the mortgage. In this way, they will gain more from the sale of the home than they would if the home were sold at foreclosure. So, to avoid foreclosure the bank and the home owner agree to the sale.

With the economy in Phoenix, Arizona in a tail spin, foreclosure of houses in every town in America is on the rise. However, before foreclosure ever happens, the home owner will find themselves in pre foreclosure. Many foreclosures are due to financial problems that came about from unemployment or the struggling economy in Phoenix, AZ. So, the pre foreclosure period is a great time for home owners to do something about their situation. Pre foreclosure is also a great opportunity for investors to find a great deal on homes that others can not afford. Finding a pre foreclosure property can be a lot easier now days. Because home owners that are struggling have started using the short sale process to avoid foreclosure, investors should seek out people that are in pre foreclosure and using the short sale process to get away from their mortgage.
The internet is a great source to find more information on pre foreclosure properties and on short selling your home if you are a property owner in pre foreclosure. Looking for a real estate agent that handles pre foreclosure sales for people looking to short sell their property is a great place to start. Banks are also actively pursuing people to buy homes in pre foreclosure so that they can avoid having to take over a house that they foreclose on. They do not want to be in the housing business. They only want their money. So a home in pre foreclosure can often be stumbled on to at a bank website or other places. The government also keeps close tabs on people that are in pre foreclosure, so checking out a government website could be beneficial to you.
You cold also check at the county clerk office for a list of homes in pre foreclosure. Sometimes those records are available.
During pre foreclosure, many home owners will be looking to short sell their property. Why? Because it gives them the opportunity to satisfy their mortgage debt and walk away with not much damage to their credit. The pre foreclosure process can take a while, so short selling works well during pre foreclosure. Also, the lender, as we stated above, doesn't want to foreclose on the home because they will not get very much money for, let's say, a $200,000 home, if they have to sell it at a foreclosure auction. So, the bank will often approve of a home owner short selling the home during the pre foreclosure process. They are so much in support of this that they will often allow the home owner to be free of the debt that remains on the mortgage after the home is sold during pre foreclosure. This is a huge benefit to the home owner, to the bank, and to any investor seeking a property that is in good condition and selling for a low price.

The bank short sale is one option that lenders in Tempe, AZ are willing to offer to certain home owners that need help keeping their home from succumbing to foreclosure. Even thought the process is a bit difficult to maneuver through, the bank short sale can offer people struggling to pay the mortgage a much needed break from the financial burden of owning their own home and the responsibility that goes with it.

Bank short sale homes and properties come in a variety of different price ranges and sizes. People who utilize the bank short sale come from different backgrounds and situations that lead them to need a bank short sale. Mortgage lenders have the ability to give the bank short sale option to single family residences, condo dwellers, and even those struggling with their commercial real estate or bare and vacant land. When borrowers can not keep up with their mortgage payments and can not find the financial windfall or means to get back to current on their mortgages , the bank short sale becomes a valuable tool that lenders might offer to property owners.

The bank short sale requires the bank or mortgage lenders approval. The bank short sale is usually handle by a banks loss mitigation department in Tempe, Arizona, as they have the most experience with a bank short sale. The bank short sale means that the home owner sells the property for less than the current mortgage loan is worth.

In most cases, a lender requires that a bank short sale is taken care of by a licensed retailer. In some rare occasions the bank will allow the home owner to hand the bank short sale by themselves. Usually, the bank short sale has to sell within a certain period of time that is set aside by the bank.

Not all banks prefer to use the bank short sale as a means to cope with this financial situation. Those that do allow the use of a bank short sale usually have very stringent rules that must be followed through each step of the process. If the home owner doesn't follow these rules, foreclosure can be imminent.

Real estate experts agree that foreclosures cost banks an abundance of unneeded fees. By using the bank short sale, the bank can avoid these fees and recoup some of their losses. They also manage to avoid the legal fees and process that goes along with foreclosures.

For home owners facing foreclosure, a bank short sale can be the best option to a bad situation. While the borrower doesn't get to keep their home, the bank short sale does help the home owner out of the financial burden. The bank short sale does have a small negative effect on a credit score, but doesn't do nearly as much damage as a foreclosure does.

As soon as a lender allows a bank short sale, the borrower must give the lender information about tax returns, and a bank short sale hardship letter. This letter, for bank short sale hardship, is very important because it tells the lender why the home owner can not make payments.

About five years to one decade ago, score of people in Phoenix, Arizona decided that it was time for them to buy a home. These people were under the impression that their new home purchase would quickly appreciate in value. Much to their surprise, the exact opposite has happened with the crash of the housing market. The housing market has depreciated enormously. As a result, many of those same home owners are staring at something commonly referred to as an upside-down mortgage. An upside down mortgage means that the home owner owes a lot more money on their existing mortgage loan than the property is actually worth. Many people think that it really isn't a good idea to continue to pay money on a mortgage such as this. So, they are faced with a couple of different options, bankruptcy or foreclosure?
There is another little known option in Phoenix, AZ that has proved to be successful for many people, the foreclosure short sale. Reallly, the term explains it well. With an foreclosure short sale, the owner of the house or property and the bank or mortgage lender reach an agreement on the repayment status of the home loan. Also, in a foreclosure short sale, the property owner refuses to continue paying the loan payments on a house that, in today's current real estate market, has now lost enough value to be worth only a fraction of that loan value. The property owner knows that he or she can sell the home on a down market, but with a foreclosure short sale he or she would be getting a smaller offer than what they paid for the house and would basically have to agree to take a loss on the foreclosure short sale.
The lending company, usually a bank, also realizes the difficult position that they are in. However, they will often give in to the fact that the current market conditions will make reselling a house in foreclosure a very difficult thing to do. So, with a foreclosure short sale, the bank will still have to take a loss, but the loss will not be nearly as much as if they have to foreclose on the home and sell it at auction. There is also a substantial savings with a foreclosure short sale because, with the alternative, foreclosure has many fees and legal hurdles to deal with.
So, the foreclosure short sale is a good solution for both parties. The bank, in a foreclosure short sale, has the ability to cut costs and reduce the size of the loss that they take. The home owner, using a foreclosure short sale, gets out of a upside mortgage as the bank accepts the lower offer as a payment in full on the mortgage and takes the loss. Foreclosure short sale is a win-win situation.