The test that decides short sale or cash sale
People are told conflicting things about short sales by several parties who each have something to sell. Here is the version with nothing attached.
Equity means a cash sale. Being underwater means a short sale. That is the whole test, and it does not turn on your preference or on how good a negotiator you are. A cash sale runs on your timetable, because the money is already there. A short sale runs on the servicer's, because the servicer has to approve taking a loss before anything can close.
The short sale process in Suffolk County, honestly described
The servicer will want a hardship letter, financial statements, tax returns and bank statements, the contract, and a settlement statement showing exactly what they net. The package matters more than people expect. A short sale file that arrives incomplete goes to the back of a long queue.
We have put enough short sale packages together to know what gets asked for before it is asked for. Nobody can promise your servicer approves it. What we can do is make sure the short sale is not the one that fails on paperwork.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A three-bedroom on Nord Park Boulevard. A two-bedroom on Artist Lake Drive. A house on Pine Road. All of them in Middle Island, all bought by us.
Middle Island is roughly 10,546 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11953, and the housing stock is mostly ranch, hi-ranch, colonial. Around Middle Country Road and Artist Lake, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. We know which of these streets take water, where the older systems fail first, and what the Longwood Central School District does to a resale price.
Helping Middle Island owners through a short sale
Most people arrive at the short sale question already tired. They have had one conversation with the servicer and come away less clear than before.
The first thing we do is establish which route you are actually on, which takes one call rather than a month. Then we tell you what usually happens next. A cash sale, a short sale, or a modification worked with a housing counselor are all real outcomes here. None of them costs you anything to explore, and we will point you at the right one even when it is not us.
How long a short sale takes against a cash sale
The short sale timeline is the most underestimated part of this. Owners hear that a short sale is an alternative to foreclosure and assume that means it is quick. It is a genuine alternative, and it is not quick.
So weigh the clock alongside everything else. A cash sale closes on a date you know in advance. A short sale can be the better route when you are underwater, and it still ends when the servicer decides it ends rather than when you do.
How selling a house in a short sale in Middle Island works
- 1
Start with the basics
Where the house is (11953) and a rough sense of its condition is all we need to begin. Call or use the form. Nothing needs fixing or clearing out beforehand.
- 2
We come and look at it
One visit, one person, usually under half an hour. On a ranch or hi-ranch of the age most of Middle Island was built, we are mainly looking at the roof, the boiler and the electric rather than the kitchen.
- 3
A written offer within 24 hours
One figure, in writing, inside 24 hours. Not a range. Show it to a Suffolk County agent if you want a second view; if the house is already in good enough shape to list, an agent may get you more, and we will say so.
- 4
Closing happens on your date
If you need it done quickly, it can be. If probate, a tenant or a move means waiting, we wait. What you skip is the 82 to 97 days a Middle Island listing usually spends on finding a buyer and then on that buyer's lender.
What a short sale leaves behind, and what a cash sale does not
A cash sale where the mortgage is paid in full closes the matter cleanly. A short sale is different, because the lender is accepting less than it is owed, and what happens to the shortfall afterward is not automatic.
Some short sale approvals waive the deficiency and some reserve the right to pursue it, and forgiven debt can carry tax consequences. We are not going to state either as settled fact for your situation. Ask an attorney about the deficiency language in the short sale approval letter, and ask a CPA about the tax side, before you sign anything.
What you do not pay when you sell a house in a short sale
Each of the following comes with a retail listing of a house in a short sale, and none of it comes with ours.
- Agent commission
- $22,000 at 5% of the Middle Island median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $8,800 on a $440,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Per truckload, before anyone views it none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities across the 82 to 97 days it takes to find a buyer and then wait on their lender none
Start with the written payoff figure
Everything on this page comes down to two numbers: what the house is worth and what the payoff is. Get the second one in writing from the servicer, and we will put the first one in writing for you at no cost.
If the gap favors you, a cash sale is simple and quick. If it goes the other way, we will talk you through what a short sale involves and whether yours looks like one worth starting. You are not obliged to sell to us to have that conversation, and plenty of people do not.
Common questions
Do you handle short sales in Middle Island?
Yes. We have worked a great many short sales across Nassau and Suffolk over the years. A short sale is slower and lender-driven, so we will be honest up front about what yours looks like, but being underwater is not a reason we send anyone away.
How do I find out what I owe on the mortgage?
Call the servicer and ask for a payoff quote in writing, good through a date far enough out to be useful. Do not work from the balance on your monthly statement, because it leaves out the arrears and fees that the short sale question actually turns on.
Can I do a short sale on a Middle Island house if foreclosure has already been filed?
Often yes. A filed foreclosure does not close off a short sale, it adds a clock. Servicers have discretion to adjourn a sale date when a credible contract is in front of them, though nobody can guarantee it. Get an attorney involved alongside us.
Which is better for me, a short sale or a cash sale?
It is not really a preference. If a Middle Island house is worth more than the payoff, take the cash sale, because it is faster and simpler. If it is not, the short sale is the route, and we can work it with you.
Will I walk away with money from a short sale?
Usually not, since the lender is already accepting less than it is owed. Some short sale approvals include a relocation allowance and some do not, and that is the servicer's call rather than ours. Ask an attorney to review the approval letter before you sign it.