Portland Short Sale or Try for a Home Loan Modification?

This is a serious question for many Portland Oregon home owners who are underwater in their mortgages: Should I Short Sale my Home or Try for a Home Loan Modification? For your consideration, I will tell you a common and very sad experience I have regarding folks who try for Portland home loan modifications. Too many times, the bank has suggested that the Portland home owner stop making payments while proceeding with the modification. The modification then takes 6 months to over a year to process. At the end of that time the bank rejects their modification attempt and all of the sudden they get a notice that the bank is going to foreclose in a week or two! These unfortunate people call me, and simply put, there is no time left for the Portland short sale to work. They get foreclosed on, trusting the bank all the way.

The best way to approach a modification, in my opinion, is to keep making your payments. The best way to approach a Portland Short Sale is to start the process as early as possible – before you miss too many payments! I’m VERY successful in making short sales work (over 90% success rate), but I need time, it takes time to make the Portland short sale work. The more current someone is on their mortgage the better chance they will have at a successful short sale. (I have sold a Portland short sale for an owner who was more than a year behind, but that is not the norm.) Should you try for a home loan modification or for a short sale? Try the modification if you are committed to staying in the home – but be careful, and if you are going for a short sale situation, start the process early. That is my best recommendation. (Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, and it is always advisable to consult a lawyer.)