A wave of unemployment began to wash over America in late 2007, which swept away financial stability for many families; this caused them to fall behind on their loan payments and it drove their home values deep underwater in relation to their mortgage debt as the resulting foreclosures mounted. For almost three years this wave has stretched relentlessly from the coasts deep into America's heartland. At the same time that families were losing their jobs, interest rates on Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) began to adjust sharply upwards. This unforgiving combination of events led to a housing market crash that washed away people’s ability to refinance or maintain steady employment so they could keep their home.

How devastating was the wave of unemployment that washed over America?  The video below tells the story:

As the video shows, few have escaped the wave of unemployment that has washed over America in the last three years. For most people, their personal finances have taken a big and unexpected hit. Even people who have a job, managed their finances well, and maintained a discipline of saving were impacted by this crisis through declining home values, fewer raises and bonuses at work, or less revenue if they are a small business owner.

Sadly, such an economic downturn is broad and unforgiving to all in its wake. If the recession has put you in a place where you're underwater on your mortgage and unable to pay your bills, you are left with a limited number of options. Lenders have demonstrated an unwillingness to modify underwater loans even though government incentive programs have tried and failed to motivate them. Even if a lender is willing to modify a loan, the loan modification terms they offer are often unsustainable due to a lack of principal forgiveness or fixed interest rates. Without a meaningful loan modification, this means you can either let your home to go into foreclosure and face the credit consequences or you can a choose a better option: the short sale.

Short sales are a guilt-free way to sell your home and eliminate the crushing debt hanging over your head. Unfortunately, millions of homeowners nationwide have had their homes foreclosed on at great expense to both the lender’s financial bottom line and the homeowner's personal credit.

At the Rasmussen Law Firm, we believe that a short sale is the most sensible option for people who are facing an unsustainable loan situation or are currently in foreclosure on their home or investment property. Fortunately, the lenders agree with us. We have successfully worked with lenders to short sale over 150 homes as well as permanently settled over $100 million in secured loan debt. Through a short sale, we'll work to have your loan debt forgiven and protect you from improper deficiency demands that would enable the lender to collect on the loan balance in the future.

Prior to this crisis, few people understood the financial meltdown that was before them. Today, many of us wish we had better understood the market and made different choices. What’s most important now is to choose the best option for your future. You can still choose to pursue a short sale and end the nightmare today so you can look forward to your future.

The Rasmussen Law Firm will negotiate all the settlement terms with your lender so you can take care of yourself and your family. The best news of all is that our legal services are provided at absolutely no cost to you, the seller. We are compensated either by the lender or the buyer. We can even work with your existing broker to make sure the transaction terms are in your best interest while they spend more time marketing and finding a buyer for your property. If a broker does not currently represent you, we will refer you to one of our experienced short sale brokers.

If you're interested in a short sale or have more questions, give us a call today and we'll be glad to help you:  800 . 480 . 1832