As a guest writer for The Lawhead Team’s blog, I’d like to share my experience in dealing with my condo in North San Diego County and its recent short sale.

I had originally purchased my newly renovated condo in 2005, at a young age of 23.  My oh my was I proud of myself I had made such a big step in purchasing my own home at a young age.  What I didn’t realize was that it was right at the height of the market with my condo listed at a pricey $300,000.  However, I had the means to pay the mortgage, pay the down payment and live “happily ever after”.

It wasn’t always easy, scrounging up the money to pay the mortgage every month, not to mention the high HOA costs and all the other countless expenses that come with owning a home. But I did it and I wasn’t going to let that baby go.  It wasn’t until early last year, around February of 2012, I contemplated moving and needed to figure out what in the world I was going to do with my condo.  In my building of 8 units, I was one of the only two left of the original owners who had bought in 2005.  I contemplated renting out my condo however I would still be stuck with a $500 negative every month.  While my fiance and I were shopping for homes to buy, having an additional negative of $500 did not seem feasible.

On top of the negative, I was saddened to see the value of my home had dropped tremendously.  Of course, every one’s value had dropped but it seemed there was no recovering from this loss…in my lifetime anyway.  The original listing price of my prized possession in 2005, at a whopping $300,000, was now valued below $100,000!  While I wanted to hold on to my baby for as long as I could, maybe because of the pride of ownership, maybe because I’m stubborn, who knows, I knew it was time to let her go.

My previous neighbor had done a short sale on  his condo and was already repairing his credit.  It killed me to do it but in the long run I look back and am thankful I decided to go ahead with a short sale on my condo.  Fortunately my credit score was in the 800’s when I chose to short sale so I am hoping it doesn’t take long to repair my credit. A time span of 2-3 years is the average credit recovery time after a short sale.

The reason for my writing this is to let other homeowners who are upside down on their homes know that there is hope.  Don’t let your home go to foreclosure.  Taking advantage of a short sale is one of the best decisions I made.  Though it was a very bittersweet decision, I do not feel tied down anymore and my husband and I had the opportunity to buy a beautiful home for 2/3 the original cost of my condo.

Please contact The Lawhead Team if you are considering doing a short sale on your home.  They will be a true asset to you and your family.

Written by Vanessa Dakan.