Short Sale/ Foreclosure and your Credit Score

I'm always getting asked the question does a Short Sale hurt your credit score as bad as a Foreclosure, and while I have always received different answers to this question, Here it is in Black & White straight from FICO.
If you do a deed-in-lieu or a Short Sale with no defiency balance, it doesn't hurt as bad as a foreclosure, but if there is a defeciency from the Short Sale, it hurts your score the same as a Foreclosure.


Everybodies situation is different, and there can be underlying circumstances to each case, so if you are one of those many American's that have landed on rough times during this economy, don't fret, with some help and guidance you can own a Home again.  When, is the question you need to find out the answer to, because no one answer is going to be the same for everybody.
Get lined up with a Lender that will help you with this process and guide you so that your future will have a mortgage in it again someday.
We have a great Mortgage department at ERA-King Real Estate, and any of our staff can help you get on the right path. 
Drop me an email or give me a call and I'll help you get  an appointment set up to see what we can do to get you in your own Home again.

DO KNOW THAT CREDIT SCORE ISN'T THE ONLY OBSTACLE IN GETTING A MORTGAGE.  You can have a great score, but if your debt to Income ratio is off or if you have any judgments or Liens, you can still be denied.   STUDENT LOANS are one of the biggest culprits..... you must pay them. 


I LOVE REFERRALS, so if you know of anyone that is looking to either buy or sell real estate,(doesn't have to be in Alabama)please send me an email, and I will see what I can do to help.

IS YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL CORRECT

We review our utility bills and other bills that we must pay but have you ever really looked at your tax bill.  Pay attention to the details that are being used to assess the taxes for your home, as they may be incorrect and could save you some money, but be prepared that if you challenge your taxes because you feel there is incorrect information,  and an audit is done, your taxes might go up because of updated remodeling etc...
As a Realtor, I daily use the websites that report the counties tax assessment of the homes, and frequently run into information that I believe should probably be challenged if I was the home owner of that particular property.  We are all human and mistakes can be made.
When your property is being assessed, unless you give them updated information, they are truly only guessing at the interior construction of your home, (bedrooms, baths, fireplaces, living space basements etc...) as the people that do the assessing do not enter your home, they only drive by it and take exterior pictures and measurements. The only other information they have is from when the house was originally built, information you offer, or from building permits as remodeling projects are done.
Do be aware that having a high assessment could be an advantage to you if you are considering selling in the near future, as the public can access any of these records, and will use that information when making an offer on your home, so a low assessment might hurt you.
If you think your taxes need to be reviewed, give me a call or email me, and I will help you gather the information needed to take to the tax assessor for a review.   

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  Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

  To successfully appeal your property tax bill, you first need to do a bit of sleuthing into your real estate assessment. Read

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Copyright 2011 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

I LOVE REFERRALS, so if you know of anyone that is looking to either buy or sell real estate,(doesn't have to be in Alabama) please send me an email, and I will see what I can do to help.