Short Selling my Home | Common Questions

1) Can I Short Sell My Ft. Lauderdale area home if I am current on my mortgage but see a problem coming ?

The answer is resounding maybe. Depending on your situation and the presentation that you and your Fort Lauderdale realtor put together for the bank, it may be possible to do so. Seems like the lending institution may want to avoid your falling behind and cooperate based on your honesty. However some lending institutions will tell you straight out that they will not even discuss a short sale until you are 90 days late. This issue of becoming late on your payments is the first impact on your credit score, and this is often the point that seller have a tough decision to make.

2) Can a Fort Lauderdale investment property be sold or is this for primary residences only ?

Investment property can be short sold but the process is usually scrutinized a bit more. The bigger issue in short selling an investment property is that there may be tax ramifications on the forgiveness of the debt. It is important that you discuss this with your accountant as it treating differently than the debt forgiven on a primary residence.

3) Can I continue to rent my property out during the short sale process ?

Yes you can, but fair is fair, I usually suggest to my clients that this money be used to pay HOA, or Condos fees first and the balance put away to help settle the negotiation with the bank.

4) How long does a Short Sale take ?

This is the question of the day, we have heard of one week approvals, we have heard of one year approvals. There is actually a published report card of which lending institutions are the best and which are the worst. For a starting point you should count on at least 90 days. Ever want to know which lending institution is the worst, go to any search engine and type in " Worst Banks to do Short Say With", read the first three postings that will come up, it most likely will be a clean sweep.


Eric Miller is a Fort Lauderdale Real Estate Broker Associate with Keller Williams Realty Fort Lauderdale. He is a Certified Distressed Proerpty Expert and has sucessfully completed many short sales in the Broward County area. If you are looking at Homes for Sale in Fort Lauderdale, or need some advise on a short sale. Call the team at Eric Miller and Associates for all your needs in Fort Lauderdale Real Estate.