A Short Sale Hardship Letter Is The Most Important Financial Hardship Letter You Will Ever Write. Your Financial Life Is In The Banks Loss Mitigators Control And Properly Writing A Hardship Letter For Short Sale Is Crucial.
Short Sale Hardship Letter Sample.

A short sale hardship letter is perhaps the most important letter any homeowner will ever write. The letter of hardship allows borrowers to present the circumstances that caused them to become delinquent on their mortgage note.

When writing a short sale hardship letter, it is important to remember the letter will be read by a human being. Banks employ loss mitigators to work as mediators between borrowers and lenders. Although loss mitigators do not make the decision to approve or disapprove a short sale request, they do have considerable input.

The words and emotions expressed within the hardship letter can sway the loss mitigator to help borrowers obtain short sale approval. This is not to say homeowners should fabricate misfortunes. In fact, people who lie in order to obtain short sale authorization could be charged with a criminal offense.

It’s always a good idea to draft an outline of the letter of hardship. Most people find they need to write this letter several times before obtaining their final version. Start by creating a timeline of the events which led to your inability to pay the mortgage. Then, write out a detailed description of these events and how they affected you.

Keep in mind that banks don’t like losing money. Many people believe a short sale means they can sell their home for any price they want and write-off the remainder of their mortgage balance. Most banks only allow borrowers to list their real estate at around 10-percent under market value and require the sale be facilitated through a licensed realtor.

The following is a sample short sale hardship letter. While each lender requires their own format, this will give you an idea of what banks are looking for.

Dear Lender,

We are contacting you today to request short sale approval for our property located at 1212 Sunny Lane. Unfortunately, we have fallen on hard times and are no longer able to meet our mortgage obligation.

We purchased our home in March 2006. At the time, I was employed as a construction supervisor and my wife operated a licensed daycare center from our home. In April 2007, I was involved in a car accident and had to undergo multiple surgeries. I was unable to return to work on a full-time basis for over a year.

In August 2007, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Due to her treatments and hospitalization, she had to close the daycare. This caused us to lose over $2500 in income each month.

In December 2007, the company I worked for went out of business. Not only did we lose my income, we also lost our health insurance. We were unable to find an insurance provider who would pay for my wife’s treatments because they were considered pre-existing.

Although we were able to obtain some financial assistance through the hospital, we had depleted our savings account by June 2008. My wife has recently been able to reopen the daycare, but at this time she is only able to care for three children. Currently, she brings in $900 per month.

My unemployment benefits run out in June of this year. I have yet to find fulltime employment, but work odd jobs when I am able to find them. Our combined monthly income is around $1700. Considering our house payment is $1450 per month, I believe you can see why we are unable to cure our arrearages and become current.

We sold my wife’s car and my motorcycle so we could continue paying for medical treatments. We have enrolled in budget billing through our utility company and eliminated extra features on our phone and cable. We shop at discount grocery stores and utilize coupons whenever possible. We do not go out for dinner, go to movies, or engage in frivolous spending habits. However, we simply do not earn enough to make ends meet.

Obtaining short sale approval would eliminate a tremendous amount of stress and allow my wife to focus on improving her health. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to participate in a short sale and thank you for taking time to review our situation.

Sincerely,

John and Jane Doe

If you are delinquent on your mortgage and feel a short sale would benefit you, you must contact your lender to discuss this option. Not all banks engage in short sales; nor are they required by law to authorize this type of real transaction. Therefore, it is crucial to be respectful and not lose your temper when talking to the loss mitigator handling your case.

Once a short sale is authorized, you must work closely with your lender and provide requested documents in a timely fashion. Even more important, you must learn how to write a hardship letter that is compelling, factual and concise. Doing so can greatly increase your chances of success and potentially free you from your mortgage loan debt.

A letter of hardship is a statement written by a debtor that main goal is to convince a bank or mortgage institution to agree to a short sale of an asset or property.  A short sale is the sale of an asset or property for less than the value of mortgage or loan.  This sale is a settlement between the debtor and the financial institution that allows the bank to recoup some financial losses associated with bad or defaulted loans.  A short sale also allows the debtor to avoid imminent foreclosure.  In order to apply for these short sales, the debtor must convince the banking institution of his or her inability to repay the loan or debt.  This statement is often made in a letter of hardship.

When writing a letter of hardship, it is important to remember that the primary point of the letter is to convince the financial institution that the debtor, due to certain issues, is not likely to repay the outstanding loan.  If the banking institution is properly convinced that the debtor will default on the outstanding loan or mortgage, then they may decide to agree to a short sale of the property or asset.  A letter of hardship should be detailed and personal.  It should describe the debtor’s current financial situation, listing current income, other loan obligations, and any potential collateral available.  The letter should also attempt to explain why the debtor will likely not be able to repay the loan obligation.  Remember that the individuals who will decide whether or not to issue a short sale are human.  They will be more likely to issue a short sale if the debtor has incurred unforeseen debt or expenses. This unforeseen debt could be related to a death in the family, personal health problems, or any other reason that has led to the unexpected financial stress.  The debtor should be honest in a letter of hardship and stress the exact reasons why he or she has fallen behind on their mortgage or loan payments.

It is estimated that loan officers receive forty to fifty applications for a short sale per a day.  Less than one short sale is approved for every ten applied for.  Oftentimes, a letter of hardship is what separates an approved short sale application from those applications that are denied.  The letter should be truthful and personal.  There are many real estate companies that offer to write a letter of hardship as part of a short sale package. While these packages are often very professional and the experience of qualified real estate agents is helpful and reassuring, a letter of hardship should only be written by the debtor.  This letter should be short, usually under one page.  However, there are no set rules.  A compelling letter of hardship can often run two or even three pages.  The debtor should try to resist the urge to list a set of excuses for his or her current financial situation.  Instead, the debtor should focus on concrete reasons for why they have fallen behind on their mortgage or loan payments.  Acceptable reasons for falling behind may include the death of a wage earner, unexpected health costs, or the loss of a job.  Try to avoid any mention of any unexpected legal fees associated with a criminal defense or personal lawsuit as a reason for the failure to repay a loan or mortgage.  

A short sale hardship letter is the most important part of the short sales application. Short sale hardship letters are the key to getting approval by the mortgage lender. Applications are accepted or rejected by a Loss Mitigator who works for the lender to try to stop foreclosure. A lender might be looking at stacks of distress letters from other homeowners. Your short sale hardship letter needs to stand out and touch them without crossing the line into being overly emotional.

A short sale can be the answer to the prayers of a homeowner facing foreclosure. It is an agreement from the lender to accept an offer on the house for less than what is owed on the mortgage note. Wonder why a lender would agree to absorb the mortgage loss? With the market value of so many homes plummeting, too many homeowners default on loans and home mortgages and let homes be foreclosed. These sales will keep a foreclosure from ruining your credit for years to come. Knowing how to write a short sale hardship letter can be the difference between bankruptcy and financial stability.

Only one out of ten applications is approved by banks. Each bank has different procedures. If the proper forms aren’t submitted, or the short sale hardship letter isn’t compelling enough, it will be denied.

It might be approved, but with a Deficiency Judgment. A Deficiency Judgment forces the homeowner to pay the difference between the shorted amount and the actual loan. You could end up with no house and owe thousands.

You can hire someone to write a short sale hardship letter for hundreds of dollars. You can even attend lengthy, expensive seminars to learn how to write one yourself. Here’s something they don’t want you to know; you can learn how to write your short sale hardship letter for a lot less.

Go to ShortSaleHardshipLetter.com. All the information you need is available in a simple step-by-step ebook. This book has insider secrets to getting your short sale hardship letter approved by the mortgage company.

Did you know the type of paper used and ink color can influence the lender? Or approval of you short sale hardship letter is more likely on certain days of the week? There are so many variables that can make or break your letter. Learn how to get approved by using tricks of the trade we’ve learned after analyzing thousands of approved short sale hardship letters.

The Short Sale Hardship Letter ebook is updated regularly to ensure that it contains the most accurate information. It’s only available for a limited time before being removed for revisions. You can’t afford to wait months for the next version to be released. Buy it now.

A short sale hardship letter is the one chance to gain relief from your lender. A good short sale hardship letter can save your credit and financial future by stopping foreclosure. Don’t lose another nights sleep stressing over your home mortgage note. Order this ebook now and put an end to your financial nightmare.