by jberman
Question: Short Sale Vs. Foreclosure: How Does Each Affect My Credit?
A short sale in real estate occurs when the outstanding obligations (loans) against a property are greater than what the property can be sold for. In this time of option-arms coming due we will see more and more borrowers trying to negotiate short sales as opposed to going into foreclosure. In most cases the borrower are behind on payments and about to go into foreclosure. Some short sales are negotiated simply because a borrower knows they are upside down on their mortgage but has not reached the point where they have late payments.
For example, the borrower’s loan is interest only and they have been unable to make principal payments. The original loan amount was $250,000 and they have been making the minimum payment and the loan balance has increased to $263,000. At the same time, the home only appraises for the $250,000 or possibly even less. Because the option-arm period is up, the borrower’s mortgage payments will increase and they are unable to make the higher payment. There is no equity in the property and they cannot sell the home to cover the balance of the loan. At this point they can either try to negotiate a short sale with the lender or go into foreclosure.
If the lender agrees to a short sale, they are buying back the loan for less then what they are owed. This is not something a lender has to do, but it is an option for them. Why would they consider this? The real cost for the lender in a Colorado foreclosure action is that they have to carry the loan until they can resell the house. They have to pay the taxes and insurance and this can take time and the cost of carrying the loan can become quite substantial. In some cases it will be more beneficial for them financially to take the short sale.
Okay, BUT how does this affect my credit?
Typically the loan will show up on a credit report as “settled for less then the full balance”. This will have a negative impact on the borrowers score, however it will be less then if it shows as “foreclosure”. How much it will actually affect the score will depend on the rest of the borrowers credit history. It is always best to have an attorney negotiate a short sale with a lender and at the same time have them negotiate how it will appear on the credit report. Some lenders will agree to show the loan as “paid with no late payments” (providing the borrower hasn’t made any) or they may show it as “paid was 30” if there have been some late payments. This would be optimal.
A short sale can also have a negative effect on a borrowers credit if the lender issues a deficiency judgment. A lender may take this route even if they show the actual mortgage on the credit report as paid as agreed. When they take the short sale there is still a difference between the actual mortgage balance and the amount of the short sale. The lender can then issue what is called a deficiency judgment against the borrower and this will show on a credit report just as any other judgment would. The attorney should attempt to get the lender to accept “payment in full without pursuit of any deficiency judgment.” Sometimes the lender will put the borrower on a payment plan for the deficiency without issuing a judgment. Again, this would be optimal. The one instance where a lender will not consider a short sale is if the borrower is in bankruptcy. Lenders consider a short sale payoff as a collection activity and collection activities are prohibited once a person has filed bankruptcy.
Note: This topic was asked several months ago and we hadn’t found time to research it yet. There was no pressing issue behind the question, more a curiosity so I put it in the parking lot to revisit when time permitted. Well time permitted and it turned out the best source for an answer to this question was our Credit Expert partners over at Advantage Credit.
Barb & I have been working with Advantage for longer than I can remember. When we look for partners to assist us with the various functions necessary to complete mortgage financing, we look for people that are subject matter competent, return phone calls, & add value to the relationship beyond what’s considered typical. Advantage Credit, a Colorado Company, is such a partner for us. Thanks to Mindy, Jackie, & the rest of the gang for providing us with some great content for this weeks Mailbag.
Update 12/7/10: One of my colleagues, Shashank Shekhar, has some good information on his Mortgage Blog for anyone considering the option between a Short Sale vs. a Foreclosure.