Are you looking for a short sale specialist?  I hold a Certified Default Resolution Specialist Designation.  I am in this business to help people like you.  Let me help you or someone you know who may be facing a foreclosure.

Without a doubt, Austin Foreclosures are on the rise.  In Travis County alone, on February 2008, 407 properties went on foreclosure in front of the county's steps.  In January 2008. there were 272 properties, that is a huge difference.

Why do properties go on foreclosure?  Non-payment of a loan that goes into default is usually the reason but the primary reasons are as follows:

1) Past due monthly payments; here we are talking about a mortgage loan.  A person goes into default because of a divorce, death, loss of income/job, or a bread winner gets sick and cannot work.

2) Insufficient escrow accounts; If a person escrows their property taxes and/or homeowners insurance and the mortgage company pays their tax bill and the escrow fund falls short.  The mortgage company bills the homeowner for the difference.  If the person is not able to come up with the difference or the additional increase in monthly escrow is a burden, then the bank can foreclose on the property.

3) Unpaid Insurance; this is the unpaid homeowners insurance that the lender requires that you have on the home.

4) Unpaid Property taxes;  This is usually not a problem when the property taxes are escrowed since the mortgage company is responsible in paying this.

5) Deteriorating Property Condition; A person is responsible in the upkeep of his/her own home and if the lender does an inspection and sees that it isn't kept in good condition, a foreclosure may occur.

6) Due on Sale Clauses; This clause is stated on the loan.  If the lender has found out that the person has sold the home and another person has assumed the loan.

Of course other reasons exist but in Texas, the foreclosure process is tedious and a bank does not like to foreclosure on a home.  You have to make sure you have an experienced realtor that can help you get out of the foreclosure.

If you have missed a mortgage payment (#1 above) or so and have received letters from your lender, you may have another option before you go to foreclosure.  This is called a "short sale".  You have a very short window before the bank starts the foreclosure process to sell your home at a price which is your loan balance.  Once you have received an offer that is acceptable to you, the bank has to approve this amount too.  This process takes longer but before you decide to "short sale" your home, you have to communicate with your bank and your bank must approve the fact that you are going to try to sell your home.  You must know that when you "short sale" your home, at the time of closing, you cannot profit from the sale of your home or get any money back.

If you are stuck in this bind and you would like to find out what your options are, please give me a call and together we can see if you are eligible to "short sale" your Austin home.  Your cooperation is greatly needed during this process as we must act quickly and make sure your lender knows about this.  A foreclosure has a great impact on a person's credit, while a "short sale" shows missed payments on your credit history.  At this very troubling time, please let me help you.  Call me today, a few minutes on the phone is all you have to loose at this point.

 If you are an investor and are looking to find a foreclosure property to purchase, check out my FREE Foreclosure site to find all foreclosures (Select Search Foreclosures) and pre-foreclosure or short sale listings (Select Search Short Sales) in the entire Austin area!