Will the bank pay you cash to do a short-sale?
In an interesting article from Lily Leung with the Union Tribune, a few banks are offering incentives of cash (rumored to be up to $35,000!!) to homeowners to do a short-sale rather than losing more money on their portfolios through a foreclosure. This can possibly save the banks money due to an anticipated shorter process than a foreclosure and also, by letting homeowners stay in their homes during the incentivized short-sale process, banks can curb vandalism at the properties, which can be costly to fix and make it difficult to sell.
Who is being chosen and why? This is the big mystery question. The banks are stating you cannot contact them for the incentive so you have to see if you are one of the lucky few. "Certain borrower profiles,” the cases are “very situational", ….all very vague.
I will continue to keep you informed of updates. If you know someone who has received one of these offers let me know! We can all try to put the pieces of the puzzle together and help save homes from foreclosure.
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