It’s never easy when you find yourself falling into financially tough times. Homeowners may need to perform a short sale in certain cases.

You may be able to qualify for different short sale home options if you find yourself facing one or more of the following situations:

• Drop in home market value
• You are suffering from long-term hardship
• The mortgage is near or in default status
• You have no assets
• You have made reasonable attempts to sell your home for a price that covers your mortgage

Your lender may proceed in different ways to your short sale request depending on the type of mortgage you have. If you have any of these types of mortgages, and are facing a hardship, you may qualify for a short sale.

1. Purchase Money Loan: A purchase money loan is a loan in which you pay pre-defined increments over a set duration. Typically, these are monthly payments based off the interest and principal. These can be one loan or two and, in some states, they carry no recourse. Also known as a payday loan, it is expected you’ll pay a high interest rate with the agreement that you’ll pay based off your next paycheck. Purchase money loans are not optimal as a regular mortgage as it would not qualify borrowers already with a set mortgage.
2. Rate-and-Term Refinance: This type of loan is similar to purchasing money loans except it is a hard money loan and often entails recourse, which means your lender could be entitled to a deficiency judgment. Unlike purchase money loans, rate-and-term refinancing changes the interest rate of an existing mortgage without advancing new money. It’s an advanced loan that you typically take out after you’ve purchased your home and closed the sale. These are respective towards credit rates which can further lower the overall interest rates if your credit improves.
3. Cash-out Refinance or Home Equity: These loans replace an old or preexisting mortgage with a new one based on a larger amount than previously owed. This is often higher than your prior mortgage balance, but the difference is paid out in cash based on bank standards, your home’s loan-to-value ratio, and credit profile. Cash-out refinancing can be used for a variety of reasons, including paying for lingering consumer debt, such as student loans, medical loans, or taxes.

Having these short sale home options available to you can be a huge relief when meeting your financial obligations. However, convincing your lender to agree to a short sale on your own can be tricky. There are a lot of legal formalities and paperwork to complete, which is why having expert support at your side every step of the way can be quite beneficial.