Have you reached the point of no return? I meet and speak with people considering short sales almost everyday. Some are ready to begin the process and some are not. I tell each one of them — I don’t talk people into short sales — most people who want to list their home as a short sale know it before they call me. Usually, they’ve already met with an attorney and their tax professional (often one of those professionals recommends the short sale). They understand the tax, credit, and legal consequences, and want to proceed right away because they have reached the point of no return. 
What is the point of no return? For each person it is different. There may be a trigger — your hours are reduced at work, a health event due to the financial stress and strain, or the first month you really can’t make the mortgage payment has finally arrived. These are indeed tough economic times for all. Many of the people that call me have never even had a derogatory on their credit report — often they have used credit cards and depleted savings trying to stay afloat — and then the day arrives when they realize that they cannot do it anymore. They have reached the point of no return and must explore a short sale as a possible solution to their financial difficulty.
Santa Maria Real Estate: Tips for Buying Santa Maria Short Sales
1) Be prepared for an “as-is” purchase. Many times there is deferred maintenance on short sale listings. Often owners in financial distress stop performing maintenance on the home either willfully and because they lack the funds. You can ask a short sale seller to make repairs, but often they are unable or unwilling to do so since they are losing their home. You can also approach the short sale lender and ask that they allow the cost of the repairs to be deducted from their “net” but often the answer will be no, even if the repairs are required by your lender in order to originate your new loan.
