Preparing a short sale package- not so top secret tips

Short sale package demystified:

While much has changed in the wacky world of short sales over the last three or four years, one thing is certain: a well-prepared short sale package gets processed more quickly and efficiently than a crappy one.

But, what makes a good short sale package? Here are several tips to aid you in the creation of a high-quality short sale package.

1. Assure that the short sale package is absolutely complete before sending it to the bank. If this means you have to wait an additional two or three days for bank statements or pay stubs, then that’s what you should do. A complete package is always processed more quickly and efficiently because there is no time wasted in requesting additional items.
2. Make everything dark and legible. Sometimes when scans goes through and e-mail or fax, they get lighter and lighter. By the time materials actually get to the bank, they’re much lighter than the originals and almost impossible to read. Always make sure that your package is very dark and legible. Easy on the eyes means easy on the short sale negotiator.
3. Put the loan number ion each and every page of the short sale package and number all pages. One suggestion is to print out the loan number on return address labels. Voila. Place a label on each page of your short sale package, and you are ready to rock and roll.
4. Photocopy all sides of bank statements even if some pages are blank. In viewing most bank statements, you will see that the pages are numbered one of six, two of six, etc. Sometimes pages in the middle may have no pertinent information, yet they are still numbered. Submit all pages to the bank even if some are blank, so that the bank knows that nothing is missing.

Those are a few short sale tips that can help you to prepare a good package. I’ve often said that processing the short sale is not necessarily rocket science. But, when you do things neatly and efficiently, it makes the banks’ job a little easier. Your package will be attended to more quickly and efficiently, and that’ll result in a quicker short sale closing.

Sidebar: Remember that a handful of lenders now use the Equator system for processing short sales and submitting short sale packages. While the information that needs to be collected is the same, the short sale package is submitted differently when using Equator.

Photo: flickr Creative Commons by mrmanc