Florida Short Sales: Short Sale Investment Property Deficiency?

Fort Lauderdale Short Sales: Short Sale Investment Property Deficiency?

Fort Lauderdale Foreclosure Institute was contacted by Phil with Follow Question.

"I am a California Resident but have 3 distressed Florida Properties pending foreclosure. Under Florida law a creditor cannot garnish wages. Will the  investor pursue deficiency? If yes, will they follow the FL or CA law? Thanks, Phil.”

Here was our answer. That is a legal question. Since I am not a lawyer I cannot answer it.

I do know that you can usually short sale in Florida and get the lender to forgive you of the debt. However, there are other things you can do to avoid the deficiency problem.

First, work hard to convince your lender to waive the deficiency. Investment Property Short Sales are tougher because the lenders are more reluctant to waive the deficiency.

But, many lenders will waive it. Others will agree to waive it when you have presented financial statements that show you cannot afford the deficiency.

So I think that over half of the deficiencies will be waived by the lenders. Here is what you can do for the remaining ones. First, depend on incompetence on the lender’s part.

Most lenders don’t have enough staff to handle their delinquent debt. Even if they do have the right to a deficiency in most cases the only thing they will do is call you.

When they call, you simply tell them that you don’t have the money in your budget that month to pay them anything. Don’t say anything more than that and don’t lie to them. (A lie can get you in legal trouble later on. You are better saying very little and hanging up the phone than lying.)

Most lenders won’t do anymore than “sic” the debt collectors on you. They hardly ever go to court or attempt to garnish your wages. E-mail me for a simple letter that will legally stop the harassing phone calls.

In my opinion, this will enable you to short sale 90% to 95% of all investment properties and avoid paying a deficiency. Here is what you should do if you fall into the unlucky 5-10%.

Hire a good lawyer. They can usually find a hole in their court case and get you out of paying the debt. These lenders are so disorganized that they often do not have all their paperwork in order.

Or, they can find a situation where the lender broke Collection Law. In that case, the lender is usually more than happy to settle with you versus facing a lawsuit.

Annett T. Block specializes in loan modification assistance and short sales in Florida. Florida Short Sales, Florida Loan Modification Help. Florida Short Sale Realtor.Florida Short Sales. Florida Realtor.

This information on Florida Short Sales: Can I Short Sale A Investment Property Without A Deficiency?  is provided as a courtesy to our viewers to help them make informed decisions. Florida Short Sales: Short Sale Investment Property Deficiency?

March 09, 2011