Oh how we wish we could have helped Janeen Jones who’s the subject of a new story in the Courier Journal. “Louisville foreclosures up again in 2010; might be easing this year” was published n the CJ 1/13/2011. It’s a good read with good information about Janeen and thousands of people in her situation who are going (or have been) through the foreclosure process. But the story leaves out some very important facts that homeowners need to know. Don’t blame CJ writer Chris Otts for missing the key facts about foreclosure because it’s a problem missed by most of the media all across the country.
Foreclosures don’t have to happen, it’s that simple. Yet hundreds of thousands of Louisville real estate owners don’t know that simple fact. Homeowners who lose their jobs, go through a divorce, have a medical problem or suffer several other hardships can avoid foreclosure by contacting a realtor trained in short sales. Here’s the worst part about this, the national statistics show 7 out of 10 homeowners facing foreclosure never contact a Realtor or their bank to find an alternative to a foreclosures.
One organization leading the fight to stop foreclosures and help people with financial problems is the Certified Distressed Property experts (CDPE). As a member we’re trained to help people like Janeen Jones (I should mention at no cost to her).
The main difference between a foreclosure and a short sale is your credit rating. A foreclosure will put a 5-7 year black mark on your credit report preventing you from buying a home for that period of time. A short sale reduces that time to about 2 years. More importantly a short sales allows you to walk away from your home with dignity. There’s no sheriff deputy coming to your door to serve you with papers or evict you. Remember a trained short sale agent works with you and your bank to market your home and sell it much like a normal sale. Problems like Janeen Jones experienced are minimized.
Not that it matters to the person facing the financial crisis, but you can actually help retain much of the property values for your neighborhood by keeping your home from going into foreclosure. That’s an important point to anyone reading this who owns a home and knows some one in your neighborhood facing financial problems. Let them know that there is help available; all they have to do is ask the right people.
There’s more to this story (banks, foreclosures and the underground inventory) but that comes in my next blog report.
Bob Sokoler is a former Anchor/Reporter turned Realtor 7 years ago in Louisville Kentucky. You can learn more about Bob and his Team at www.weselllouisville.com
