DO I HIRE a Real Estate Attorney or Foreclosure Attorney? Looking to short sell and want to prevent lender from taking their..

You need to assemble a team quickly. Your team should, at a minimum, consist of a real estate attorney and a realtor who have experience with short sales. Keep in mind that the process can take months and you will have to submit forms and financial data to the lender to demonstrate your inability to pay your mortgage. Also, in my experience, you will need a real estate attorney to draft a "pre-HUD" or Settlement Statement to submit to the bank as well. In my experience, the pre-HUD will contain the attorney fee and realtor commission, which will be paid from the proceeds of the sale.

If you are in foreclosure or expect to be soon, you need an EXPERIENCED freclosure defense attorney, There are many specialized issues related to the problem which are not within the expertise of most attorneys, We defend foreclosure in Florida, and have among our clients attorneys who realize that they cannot defend their own cases, because they do not hace the specialized knowledge necessary to do it right.

Short sales can be dangerous. Thelender will keep you waiting and guessing, often until it is too late. Realtors are commissioned sales people, whose primary interest is their commission. They cannot advise you on the law, they cannot advise you on the meaning or risk involved in whatever documents the lender sends.

BEWARE. This is a risky area, and despite what you may hear from people, it is ften true that even if the lender does approve the sale, it does not agree to waive its right to pursue you personally for the deficiency. If you have a competent foreclosure defense attorney, who can cause the lender real difficulty in the foreclosure if it does come, this can be the most important piece of the strategy of gettiing the lender to cooperate.