Short Sale Attorney
Are you facing foreclosure and searching for an alternative to being foreclosed upon? Contact the short sale attorneys at Minchella & Associates. Our firm has more than 37 years of legal experience. Managing partner Erica Crohn Minchella has spent her entire career representing real estate buyers and sellers in a wide variety of real estate transactions including short sales. She can provide you the experience and guidance you need to manage this minefield.
Do I need a lawyer for a short sale?
Without question it is in your best interest to work with a short sale attorney throughout this process. Your lender is attempting to foreclose on what is likely the most valuable asset you have in your possession. Our law office can negotiate on your behalf with your lender to obtain the best outcome for you.
Most people facing a short sale have no experience negotiating with banks. Minchella & Associates has extensive experience in this area. We have found that every single lender requires different documentation and plays by different rules. Some lenders are straight forward whereas some lenders will require the same documentation five times. It is critical to know how to present your documentation to the lender in a way that prevents them from taking advantage of you. In addition, once the short sale has been negotiated, you will need a lawyer to close the transaction for you.
SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME
Is short sale better than foreclosure?
Selling real estate when getting divorced ?
Selling real estate when getting divorced creates a number of different issues that happily married couples selling a property do not need to address.
Will the Sale Bring in Enough Money to Pay Off the Debt?
If there will be an equity distribution, efforts to bring the property to its best and highest value may fall on one party or the other, and consideration must then be given for reimbursement for any additional costs.
But if the property will not sell for an amount sufficient to pay off the debt, the parties need to consider the level of cooperation they need to have to assure that each can be discharged of any liability on the remaining debt.
Short Sales During a Divorce
Cooperating in a short sale, does not mean that either party has to give concessions regarding other issues pending in the divorce, but it is going to mean the each needs to be candid in the disclosure of their financial information to the lender.This should not be tricky since all the financial information has to be disclosed in the divorce proceeding anyway – right? It is unlikely that the attorney for either of the parties can represent both in the short sale negotiations, since there is a conflict of interest.
What if the Divorcing Parties Own the Property in a Tenancy by Entireties?
If the parties own their property in a Tenancy by the Entireties (TBE) there can be another layer of complication. A TBE provides the legal fiction that each party owns a 100% interest in the property. Therefore, the creditors of one cannot touch the property in which the other has a 100% interest. If one of the parties needs to file a bankruptcy, it is best done before the parties separate and divorce, since that act severs the TBE and leaves the ½ interest of the bankrupt party subject to creditor’s claims as well as possibly reducing the value of the property for the non-filing spouse.
There so many emotional issues attendant to the breakdown of a marriage. Assuring that you know and understand the complications surrounding real estate issues will help you to make better decisions and preserve equity in the property. Contact Minchella & Associates for more information about selling real estate when getting divorced.