Chris Lazarus

Chris graduated from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business with a Bachelors in Business Administration in Finance and an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Leadership and Service. He began his career with Bank of America in 2004 and worked in the Financial Services Industry as a Fraud Analyst and later as a Financial Advisor with Waddell and Reed. He has been with Sellect Realty since 2008 as the Development Manager. Chris is currently a Realtor and the Manager of Development and Recruiting with Sellect Realty of Georgia, LLC. His responsibilities include assisting home buyers and sellers while managing the growth and staffing in the Athens area.

As the owner of www.athensrealestatenews.com ,  www.sellectrealtyofgeorgia.com and local expert on www.athenstalks.com , Chris is passionate about getting information to the public relating to real estate. He specializes in offering multiple solutions to both home buyers and sellers of real estate. Through Sellect Realty of Georgia, Chris can offer a rebate to buyers of up to 1% on the sales price of their home. For Sellers Chris offers solutions for people of any budget ranging from a flat $199 to the traditional 6% commission.

Outside of his career in real estate, Chris has volunteered as a soccer coach for ACC Leisure services and is currently the President of UGA's College of Veterinary Medicine Auxiliary organization. He is an alumni of Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Kappa Psi fraternities while staying active as a Chapter Advisor for Delta Tau Delta at Clemson University.

You can follow him on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sellectrealtyga

Twitter: www.twitter.com/sellectrealtyga

Linkedin: www.linkedin.

Buying A Home In Atlanta Georgia After A Short Sale

Can I buy a home in Atlanta Georgia after a short sale?

Whether or not it is possible to buy a home in Atlanta after a short sale depends on a few factors so the answer is “maybe”.

If no payments were missed, nor were any ever late at the time the short sale was approved and the loan was paid in full when the transaction closed, then credit wasn’t negatively affected and it can be possible for a buyer to obtain new financing.

As a matter of fact, FHA, the Federal Housing Administration, outlines how someone can obtain new FHA-insured financing after a short sale in this booklet.

The rule of thumb is 2-3 years depending on the type of loan you sold short on before an institutional lender will consider you for a new mortgage provided you meet their other requirements (credit score, debt to income ratio, income, etc).

There are exceptions to the rule. If situations outside of the borrower’s control were the reason the borrower was in default, then at the lender’s discretion they may be eligible. An example would be if the primary bread-winner died or suffered a prolonged un-insured illness and the borrower’s credit report demonstrated satisfactory credit prior to these events.

It is still possible to buy a house without a mortgage from an institutional lender by finding a home where the owner is willing to finance the purchase. This is called owner finance and the buyer is receiving a mortgage from the owner of the property directly. The owner decides what their requirements are and the terms range from 2-5 years all the way up to 30 years in length. Interest rate is usually 1+ points above market rate to compensate for the additional risk. Typically, the goal is for the buyers to refinance into an institutional loan in a few years.

Here’s a great example of how someone can buy a home after a short sale using owner finance.

Another method is to purchase a home via lease-purchase. In a lease-purchase, the buyers are putting money down towards the purchase of the property at a later date (6 months to 1, 2 or 3 years). The buyers sign a lease to rent the property prior to the closing date. If they decide to not buy, the money down is forfeit. If they close the transaction, it’s applied as a credit towards the purchase.

TurnKey Investing with Lease-Options

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Old-House Journal

Old-House Journal

The turnkey investor's lease-option documents collection, essential real estate contracts & forms for lease-option transactions!