Stop Foreclosure: How to Ready Your Home for a Fast (Short) Sale

If you’re a struggling homeowner facing foreclosure, one of the options available to you is the good ole short sale. But, as with any home sale, there are some things you must do to ready your home for this type of sale. They can make the difference between selling your home quickly, or not selling it at all.

Before we discuss what they are, let’s briefly discuss what a short sale is.

Editor Note: Get info on 32 ways to stop foreclosure: Discover what banks won’t tell you & investors don’t want you to know.

Stopping Foreclosure: What Is a Short Sale?

A short sale is when a house is sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage. In today’s foreclosure crisis, more and more homeowners are using this method to get out from under their mortgage – for a host of reasons.

If you do a short sale, be sure to get your mortgage holder to accept a short sale “with no recourse”. This simply means that the lender agrees NOT to come after you for the balance due (the short; the deficiency). Whether or not your mortgage holder agrees to this will depend a lot on your financial circumstances and who the lender is.

Learn more about short sales in this detailed article on MortgageNewsDaily.com.

Whether you’re doing a short sale or not, here are five things you can do to get your home ready for a quick sale if you’re trying to stop a foreclosure.

Stop Foreclosure: 5 Things You Should Do to Get Your Home Ready for a Fast (Short) Sale

Here are the five “de’s” of preparing your home for a quick (short) sale.

I. Detach Emotionally: This is probably the hardest thing you will have to do, especially if you don’t want to leave your home. But remember, this is necessary to do what you have to do so you can move on with the rest of your life.

A home is made up of the people who inhabit it; not the bricks and mortar it’s made out of. So, as long as your family remains intact, “home” will always be with you.

II. Depersonalize: One piece of advice Lisa LaPorta, HGTV designer and host of “Designed to Sell” & “Bang for Your Buck”, always gives is to depersonalize your space when you’re trying “designing it to sell.”

Lisa says that prospective buyers have to image themselves living in the space. It’s much easier to do this when your pictures, knickknacks and other personal items are not crowding the walls, tables and mantles.

III. Declutter: If you’ve ever watched an episode of A&E’s “Sell This House,” one of the first things they do is clear out a space. They declutter it, then refill it only with essential elements.

Most people don’t realize how much stuff they’ve accumulated until they get ready to move. Clutter, even in a clean house, can make it appear dirty, small and all-around uninviting. A decluttered spaces says, “new”, “clean”, “modern”, “crisp”, “open” . . . BUY ME!

IV. Decrease the Price: . . . . if you have too.

If you’re doing a short sale, you are already selling for less than what is owed. But, you may have to decrease even a short sale price, especially in today’s market. Be prepared.

Remember, a house is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. This is where working with a realtor can really pay off. They will pull comps and price your home accordingly; that way there’s less chance of you overpricing it.

V. Deodorize: If you’re a smoker or you live with pets, it’s likely that you don’t even notice the odor anymore. But odors live in carpets, curtains, bed covers, slip covers, etc. And, a prospective buyer walking into your home WILL notice.

Again, if you’ve ever watched an episode of “Sell This House” or any other home-selling program, prospective buyers are notorious for commenting on things like “that awful pet smell,” or “obviously, they’re smokers,” etc. So deodorize.

Deodorizing can be as easy as giving a home a good cleaning and lighting some scented candles. Or, it can be more involved, eg, having to paint; or throw out and/or recover smelly, upholstered furniture. To repeat, if you’re working with a realtor, they will make you aware of what you need to do . . . right down to cleaning and deodorizing.

If you do these five things, you will be well on your way to selling your house, stopping foreclosure and getting on the road to a new life.

Learn the tax consequences of doing a short sale in the Suze Orman video below.

P.S.: Learn how to repair your credit after foreclosure.

Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.