Are you underwater on your home, falling behind on your mortgage payments or just need to move out of your house? A short sale could be the best option for you, but the first step in starting the short sale process is finding a reputable Denver short sale specialist.

If you have been searching the internet for more information about who to work with to help you short sale your home, make sure that you do your research and don’t believe everything that you see online. There are some real estate agents in the Denver area that claim to be experts in short sales, however this isn’t always the case.

One of the most important things that you need to establish when hiring a short sale specialist is that they can actually close a short sale and have been doing so for quite awhile. Anyone can list a short sale property on the market, but it takes a true expert to be able to negotiate the sale with the lender and get the transaction closed. It’s also important to choose a short sale specialist that has a high success rate. The national average in completion rates when it comes to short sales is around 40-50%; if you take your time and look around, finding a realtor with a success rate higher than the national average shouldn’t be that difficult.

You’ll also want to ask for references from previous clients, inquire about how often the agent communicates with the lender on a short sale file, and ensure that they are relentless when getting pushback and counter offers from investors and lenders.

Short selling your home can time a little bit of time, but it could take even longer and end up costing you money in the long run if you don’t do your research from the very start and choose an experienced, knowledgeable short sale specialist to work with.