Short Sale Tip: Can You Give The Seller Cash For Items In The House?

From time to time I login to spot check support tickets for our kick butt software. I like to know what’s going on and see how things are being handled by our support team plus I’ll answer the tickets while I’m at the help desk.

Yesterday one of our great customers asked the following question:

I see other gurus advocate giving the seller cash for items in the house (washer, dryer, etc) on short sales but Gerald Romine does not. Why? Banks even give sellers “Cash For Keys.”

The short answer is “I don’t want to go to jail.”

If you give the seller money for itmes that you would not have otherwise purchased if it were not for the possibility of a short sale you could be found guilty of mortgage fraud which is a felony. The lender can offer cash for keys because they are a principle in the transaction.

If it smells like a fish it probably stinks!

Think about it… Does buying personal property from the seller at an inflated value (5K 10K, etc) make any sense if you were before the judge on 5 counts of felony mortgage fraud? When opposing counsel starts asking questions is the story going to hold water? How did you and the seller meet? How long have you known each other? Would you have bought the property if not for the foreclosure and short sale possibility? Do you consider yourself a real estate investor? Would you have even met the seller if you were not looking for real estate deals? You get the idea.

Be careful who you listen to because there are alot of so called experts giving out advice that could land you in jail.

Now Go Buy A House!

Author: Gerald Romine

PS – One of the best sites I’ve ever created is www.kickassshortsales.com. It’s a resource site and currently all of the info is free AND it’s more complete then most short sale courses and systems that people are selling.  Enjoy.