Is short sale the only way for me to move into another home quickly?

I would never advise a short sale. In your situation, you would not be able to short sale anyway. It appears you have a lot of equity, so why not sell the home for a little under market value if you want to get out quickly. That would take care of it. As far as the new home, you need to be prequalified as soon as possible. Maybe you can qualify for the new home with both mortgages. Call me at 214-733-6899 and we can find out where you stand at no charge to you.

It does not appear that a short sale would be an option for you. Short selling is generally for homeowners that are upside down, and must ask the lender to take a discounted payoff so they can get out from under their debt and move. With 50% equity behind their loan, your lender would have no incentive to accept anything except full payoff.In this buyer's market, I would not advise rushing into a purchase contract until you have sold your home. If the home you are trying to buy is not available, there will be others. Or, you may make your offer contingent upon the sale of your home.

You are in a good position. I would call a professional that is licensed in TX and go over ALL Your options. I would strongly recommend you call Mr. Ron Litt, Open Mortgage at (281) 961-4570 and get his advice and counsel. Tell him, Korene, sent you.

My advice is that you use the home that you want to move out as an investment rental allowing your renter to pay your note and you should have a real nice tax benefit. Depending on the program and your outstanding debt you may have to include the PITI until you file the rental expenses on your taxes to offset the payment. Since you are putting 20% down the new home could also be used as a second home/investment property scenario. If you would like to discuss further, please give me a call. David Webber 214-771-8696

Why short sale it? Not only could it take longer than you think to sell the home while the bank screws around with the price, your credit will be negatively impacted, probably making it impossible for you to purchase another home. Short sales are for those homeowners who are having trouble making their payments, and their homes are probably "underwater," so they want to get out of their homes for financial relief. Is that you? If not, don't mess around with a short sale. You will be far better served to list your for somewhat more than you believe the short sale price would be to make it attractive to potential buyers, and keep your lender out of the transaction.

First and foremost, a shortsale is the last step you should consider if the only other option was foreclosure. 50% LTV means you owe half of what the home is worth. A short sale occurs when the balance on your home loan is more than the home is worth. So you can see, a shortsale is not the answer. Besides, with a short sale on your record, you would not be able to qualify for a new mortgage for at least 2 and possibly 3 years. There are a couple of ways to get into this other home. One way is to offer your current home for sale at a great price relative to the other homes you are competing with. For example, let's say your home is currently worth $200,000. At a 50% LTV, you would owe $100,000. If you were to offer the home for sale at say $175,000, you might get several offers quickly. The buyer gets a bargain and you would get less cash from the sale, but the house is sold and you can buy the new one with confidence. Another option is to see if you qualify for the new home while trying to sell the old one. My best advice is to contact a local Mortgage Banker/Broker, rather than one of the big banks. Unlike a bank employee, who is most likely just an order taker, a Mortgage Broker/Banker is Trained, Tested and Licensed in all aspects of Mortgage Origination. He/She will have access to products of many lenders, not just those of one bank, and can properly guide you.