DAVIES TOP 5 TIPS 5 Tips for Real Estate Owners in Financial Trouble:

1. Gather all documents that you have in your possession relating to the purchase and

financing of the home. This will include your loan documents, deeds, purchase

contract documents, disclosures. Get a box; put all of these in one place. This is a

hassle, but well worth the effort. (You might be surprised how many lenders don’t

even have all of the paperwork.)

2. Meet with your knowledgeable real estate advisor. Get a realistic market perspective

on the value of your property as an opportunistic buyer would see it, whether you are

considering selling or not. Also learn from your advisor about what to expect from

the process of selling a home, as a distressed property or conventional sale and

develop a strategy for resolution. This will vary, depending on your property

location, market conditions, actual lender, number of loans on your property,

whether you and your property can qualify for federal or lender modification

programs, etc.

3. Make a detailed current financial statement of your assets and liabilities, income and

expense.

4. Meet with tax and legal counsel regarding consequences of any action you might be

considering, bring your documents listed above. This is very important, laws and

precedents change frequently.

5. Finally, make a well-informed decision about your financial and real estate future

given all of the information you have gathered. Questions to consider are: Under

what conditions could you keep the home? Do emotional ties to your home outweigh

cost to keep it? Who is affected by a short sale of your home? Are there moral or

ethical issues you have with walking away from a debt or having one forgiven? Do

your immediate financial needs take precedent over consequences of a short sale?

What concerns about your property are you unsure about telling

your agent?

DAWNA DAVIES • Davies Company Real Estate • Dawna@DaviesCo.com • www.DaviesCo.com