When is the right time to list a foreclosure property as a short sale?
Quite frankly, as soon as possible. If a foreclosure has been filed, you must act soon. The ideal situation, in Michigan, is to get the short sale done BEFORE the sheriff sale for 2 big reasons. First, this prevents the credit damage that occurs upon auction of the property. Second, by the time a lender “buys” the property back at the sheriff sale, much of their fixed costs of the foreclosure process have been spent, so there is less opportunity to show them the benefits of a short sale and they are less likely to agree to a short sale. If the sheriff sale date has already passed on a Michigan property, there is still time to do a short sale, though, and it should be tried. If your homeowner was not sufficiently motivated to lower their price to avoid the sheriff sale, then they need more help to get out from under this property. At this point, they have to wave the white flag and try a short sale because it becomes more difficult to sell a property through MLS that has been sold at au
