4 Ways to Improve Your Short Sale Package

Tip #1: Research the Lender!

Each lender is different, so make sure you know what the lender needs in a short sale package. Many lenders have specific procedures that need to be followed and documents that need to be completed for your package to be considered acceptable.

For example, Citimortgage requires you to fill out their specific Financial Application – if you don’t fill out this document you can hurt your chances for getting your package processed in a timely matter. Each lender is different, so make sure you do your research! Short Sale Artisan’s Education and Marketing section in the site which has lender-specific information to help you out and is constantly updated with the latest information!

Tip #2: Make sure you include all your necessary documents!

Short Sale Artisan has a great Checklist in our system to help you get all your documents identified.  There are many documents that are used in the short sale process. Remember, some of these may not be necessary in all circumstances! Make sure that you include everything that is required from the lender you are working with. Leaving something out just gives the loss mitigation department a reason to put your package to the bottom of the stack, and time is critical in the short sale process!

1. Sales Contract or Deed
2. Short Sale Offer Letter – this can be calculated and generated automatically with our Offer Generator.
3. Borrower’s financial statement- get at least 2 years worth of W-2 forms.
4. HUD Statement Draft - this can be generated automatically with our Offer Generator.
5. The Hardship letter - see our blog post for more information about how to write a hardship letter!
6. Paycheck stubs – if the borrower is not working that will need to be explained.
7. Bank Statements - similar to paycheck stubs, accounts may have been closed. If they are, it will need to be explained.
8. Credit Report – if it shows the borrower is having a difficult time meeting all their obligations, it will help make the case for a short sale.
9. Listing Agreement – the bank will want to see that you have the house on the market. Some lenders will require that the property be listed for a certain amount of time before they entertain a short sale.
10. Authorization to Release information – available in our Document Generator, this document allows investors to work directly with the lenders on behalf of the borrowers
11. Photos and Repair Estimate – take pictures of the property and estimate repair costs. Check out our post ongreat links for short sale professionals for some free resources to help you estimate your repair costs!
12. Executed Bill of Sale – available in our Document Generator – make sure you are  very careful with disclosure when it comes to the bill of sale!
13. Supporting Hardship Information – for example; medical statements if the hardship is illness related.
14. Buyer Approval – if there is a cash buyer the bank may want proof-of-funds.
15. Comparables – show properties in the area and what they are selling for or have sold for to help justify the offer.  Short Sale Artisan makes this easy to generate with integrated Zillow comparables search functionality
16. Crime or Neighborhood Data – if the area has seen depressed home values because of circumstances like crime, include that information.
17. Limited Power of Attorney – available in our Document Generator – more expansive than the authorization to release information. The POA will allow you to negotiate on behalf of the borrower.
18. Additional Documents – many lenders have specific documents, so do your research and know what needs to be submitted!

Tip #3: Professionalism and appearance are important!

Don’t be sloppy with your short sale package!

Make sure your package is well formatted, professional, and easy to read. Remember, lenders are getting inundated with these packages in overstaffed departments. Having a well-assembled, complete, and logical package that is easy to read will make it that much easier to be processed quickly.

Additionally, keeping your package professional will help to convince the mitigator that you are serious about the offer. Whether it is your first deal or your 500th, you will want to give the impression that you know what you are doing. A professional package demonstrates confidence.

Some general tips which shouldn’t be overlooked:

• Spell check – you wouldn’t believe how many investors will submit information to a bank with mis-spelled words. Take the effort to make it right!
• Visual Consistency - be consistent in your documentation. This means make the pages look like they belong together. For documents that you generate or type, make sure to use similar fonts, margins, and headers and footers.
• Data Consistency - make sure there are no contradictions in your package. Your financial statements should tie to your W2’s which should tie to your hardship letter. Any inconsistencies will quickly bring question to the package.
• Make it easy to read - loss mitigators are overwhelmed with these packages. Make them easy to read! Put a little bit of extra space between lines to make it easy on the eyes. The people on the receiving end will appreciate it!
• Ensure the package is complete - Make sure your package has everything the first time out. Submitting a half-complete or incomplete package will almost certainly delay the package and frustrate the mitigators, and you want to keep them happy!

Tip #4: Submit your package and follow up!

Once you submit the package to the bank (make sure you follow the procedures you identified in Tip #1!), follow-up to make sure they have the package.

The old saying, “The Squeaky Wheel gets the Oil” is true. It is a bit political; so make sure you balance out annoying the lender with getting them to continue to move forward on processing. Also, make sure if they identify anything as missing from the package you turn around delivery of that as expediently as possible.