Which one applies to a Coram house like yours
The difference between a short sale and a cash sale is who has to say yes. In a cash sale, you and the buyer agree a price and the mortgage is paid off out of the proceeds. In a short sale there is a third party at the table, because the servicer has to accept less than the full balance, and servicers have discretion about that.
We have worked short sales across Nassau and Suffolk for years, and straightforward cash purchases far more often than that. Tell us the payoff on a Coram house and we will tell you which conversation you are actually in.
What a short sale actually involves
A short sale needs three things: a hardship documented well enough for the servicer to act on, a buyer credible enough that the file does not collapse partway, and patience. Short sale approval is measured in months rather than weeks, and it moves at the servicer's pace.
What a short sale is not is fast, and it is not something a buyer can force. What a buyer can do is arrive with a clean contract, answer every request the same day, and stay in it when the file goes quiet for three weeks. That is most of what separates a short sale that closes from one that stalls out.
Why local knowledge changes the number
A four-bedroom on Judith Drive. A three-bedroom on Winside Lane. An one-bedroom on Skyline Drive. All of them in Coram, all bought by us.
Coram is roughly 40,220 people in Suffolk County, ZIP 11727, and the housing stock is mostly hi-ranch, ranch, colonial. Around Route 112 and Middle Country Road, most of it is old enough that the mechanicals are on their second or third life. We know which of these streets take water, where the older systems fail first, and what the Longwood and Middle Country school district does to a resale price.
How we work a Coram short sale with you
If you have equity, we are the simple route: a written cash sale number, a closing date you choose, no repairs, and no financing to fall through.
If you are underwater, a short sale is the route and we can work it with you. We know what a Suffolk County servicer wants in the package, roughly how long short sale approval takes, and where these files usually stall. We also bring in the attorneys and HUD-approved housing counselors we have used for years when a situation needs them, and we do that whether or not the house ends up being ours.
Timelines: short sale, cash sale, and a listing in Coram
The short sale timeline is the most underestimated part of this. Owners hear that a short sale is an alternative to foreclosure and assume that means it is quick. It is a genuine alternative, and it is not quick.
So weigh the clock alongside everything else. A cash sale closes on a date you know in advance. A short sale can be the better route when you are underwater, and it still ends when the servicer decides it ends rather than when you do.
How selling a house in a short sale in Coram works
- 1
You give us the address
The street address in 11727 and a sentence or two about the condition, by phone or the form. No photos needed, and nothing has to be cleaned or repaired first.
- 2
We walk through it once
A single visit by one person, normally under thirty minutes. With a hi-ranch or ranch built when most of Coram was, the roof, heating and electric matter far more to us than the kitchen does.
- 3
You see the number
Within a day you get our offer as one written figure. Get a Suffolk County agent's opinion alongside it if that helps. For a house that could go on the market as it stands, listing may come out ahead, and we will tell you if so.
- 4
You pick the closing date
Fast if you need fast, or months out if you are waiting on probate, a tenant, or somewhere to move to. Either way you skip the 83 to 98 days a listed Coram house spends finding a buyer and then waiting on that buyer's mortgage.
What a short sale leaves behind, and what a cash sale does not
A cash sale where the mortgage is paid in full closes the matter cleanly. A short sale is different, because the lender is accepting less than it is owed, and what happens to the shortfall afterward is not automatic.
Some short sale approvals waive the deficiency and some reserve the right to pursue it, and forgiven debt can carry tax consequences. We are not going to state either as settled fact for your situation. Ask an attorney about the deficiency language in the short sale approval letter, and ask a CPA about the tax side, before you sign anything.
What you do not pay when you sell a house in a short sale
Listing a house in a short sale the usual way brings each of these costs with it. Selling to us brings none of them.
- Agent commission
- $28,750 at 5% of the Coram median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $11,500 on a $575,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Everything a buyer would flag, paid for before you list none
- Cleanout and removal
- Dumpsters or haulers by the load, ahead of any viewing none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities through the 83 to 98 days a listing takes to sell and close none
The one call to make before choosing between a short sale and a cash sale
Everything on this page comes down to two numbers: what the house is worth and what the payoff is. Get the second one in writing from the servicer, and we will put the first one in writing for you at no cost.
If the gap favors you, a cash sale is simple and quick. If it goes the other way, we will talk you through what a short sale involves and whether yours looks like one worth starting. You are not obliged to sell to us to have that conversation, and plenty of people do not.
Common questions
Do you handle short sales in Coram?
Yes. We have worked a great many short sales across Nassau and Suffolk over the years. A short sale is slower and lender-driven, so we will be honest up front about what yours looks like, but being underwater is not a reason we send anyone away.
How do I find out what I owe on the mortgage?
Call the servicer and ask for a payoff quote in writing, good through a date far enough out to be useful. Do not work from the balance on your monthly statement, because it leaves out the arrears and fees that the short sale question actually turns on.
Can I do a short sale on a Coram house if foreclosure has already been filed?
Often yes. A filed foreclosure does not close off a short sale, it adds a clock. Servicers have discretion to adjourn a sale date when a credible contract is in front of them, though nobody can guarantee it. Get an attorney involved alongside us.
Which is better for me, a short sale or a cash sale?
Whichever one your numbers permit. A cash sale is better in almost every respect except that it requires equity. If you are underwater, a short sale is not a worse choice, it is the available route, and it can still beat letting a foreclosure run its course.
Will I walk away with money from a short sale?
Usually not, since the lender is already accepting less than it is owed. Some short sale approvals include a relocation allowance and some do not, and that is the servicer's call rather than ours. Ask an attorney to review the approval letter before you sign it.