Most mortgages are held by investors and serviced by the mortgage company. The investor is taking a ‘hit’ on the interest they were scheduled to earn over the life of  the mortgage. The alternative to agreeing to sell the loan short is to take the house and mortgage into foreclosure. If a loan goes to foreclosure, everyone is likely to suffer a greater loss than if the mortage is sold ’short’. The homeowner’s credit is damaged worse with a foreclosure than if a short sale is worked out. Properties marketed as short sales take a longer period of time to close, due to the process of getting all parties to agree on the final sale price and costs associated with closing the loan.

There are several options to sell a property that have not been conventional over the longer period of time. Consult with your real estate professional to determine what is the best way to sell your home.

The internet has become a great source of information and housing statistics can be gathered from many public sites. However, caution should be exercised when using some sites. There are many misleading sources of information. You can make numbers say whatever you want. It is important to have someone who knows the area and can compare the features of individual properties of your home as they relate to the other sold homes to come to a factual value that you home is worth.

Answer: Roughly speaking, you take the market value of your home and then subtract what you owe. If your home is worth $250,000 and your mortgage balance is $150,000 then your equity is $100,000. A better estimate include other costs, like minor repairs, marketing, and closing expenses. If the property is worth $250,000 and you then subtract a percentage for expenses, and let’s say 8 percent is a reasonable figure, then you have $230,000 ($250,000 less $20,000) from which you subtract the loan balance of $150,000 – leaving a more realistic figure.  In this example, your equity is $80,000.