Foreclosures could be lessened by short sales

One way to reduce the number of foreclosures is by increasing the short sales, this according to the president of HBN Interactive Duane LeGate.

In Las Vegas where foreclosure is at its height, increase in short sales could lead to fewer foreclosures.

A short sale is a transaction whereby a lender permits a borrower to sell his home for less the amount that the borrower owes.

LeGate reported that many lender banks are putting off the foreclosure process when an acceptable short sale is in sight.
    
About 10 percent of the property transactions in Las Vegas are short sales, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported. There are currently close to 4,800 properties in Greater Las Vegas that are listed as short sales.

FOX5 News reported that lender banks see short sale as an alternative to foreclosure. The news organization said that for every foreclosure, a lender bank spends about $50,000 in legal fees and maintenance alone.

The news organization added that although a short sale affects the credit status of the seller, it wouldn’t be as severe as a foreclosure.

In its latest report, data aggregator RealtyTrac reported that Nevada continuous to top the U.S. foreclosure rate list, with one in every 62 housing units in Nevada in August receiving a foreclosure filing–defined as default notice, scheduled auction and bank repossession.

The data aggregator added that a total of 17,902 properties in Nevada received foreclosure filings during the month of August, a rise by 53 percent from August of the previous year.