So you talked to a Realtor, your financial adviser and a real estate attorney and you decided that a short sale was your best option. So now what are the first steps you will need to take to prepare for your upcoming adventure, and an adventure it will be.

After you talk to your real estate agent you need to start preparing the necessary paperwork to arm your agent. The bank is going to ask for it, so get ready now.

• Letter of authorization for agent
• Hardship letter
• Two years tax returns
• Two month pay records
• Two month bank statements
• Personal financial statement
• HOA statement

Once you have all these together you need to get them to your agent so they can start preparing the case in your favor. They are going to need a letter of authorization which gives them permission to speak to the bank about your situation and represent you. Another important piece of information is your hardship letter. This letter needs to state your case the best way possible and should not be more than one page. When writing this letter use lots of paragraph breaks to make it easy to read. The letter should contain three sections that basically lay out, sorry I am in this circumstance, here is my circumstance and I have exhausted all options and if this doesn’t work out we will end up in foreclosure.

The short sale process will not be an easy and short one, but if it is in your best interest, then be prepared by having all your ducks in a row.