MADISON – Desiree Palmer’s new business, Southern Short Sales, helps real estate agents working with clients facing this frequent scenario in today’s economy.

Desiree Palmer is owner of Southern Short Sales. (CONTRIBUTED)

Southern Short Sales helps agents negotiate any received offers. To speed the process, Palmer’s services allow agents “to provide clients with short sale expertise without detracting from their most important focus — marketing the property. We process all paperwork that the seller’s lender will require” and avoid delays, Palmer said.

Palmer defines short sale as “a negotiated agreement with your mortgage lender to sell your property for less than you currently owe.” Usually but not always, “the remaining debt will be forgiven.”

The company can assist buyers’ agents by providing guidance on determining a likely acceptable price and documentation that reduces the review timeline.

“Southern Short Sales does not list properties, but, if a homeowner contacts us directly, we’ll refer them to an agent who will work in tandem with us to successfully complete the short sale,” Palmer said. “We never charge the homeowner for our services.”

After working two years with a similar company, Palmer decided to found her own business. “I have the expertise and knowledge to not only successfully negotiate short sales but also put processes in place (for) a reduced timeframe.”

Inherently, short sales are stressful to all parties. Palmer is “grateful my experience can help homeowners navigate through a difficult situation.”

Palmer earned a juris doctorate degree from the University of Arizona and a master’s degree of law in finance from the Institute for Law and Finance in Frankfurt, Germany. She is a licensed attorney in New York and a licensed real estate agent in Alabama.

Before moving to Alabama, she worked as a banking and finance lawyer in Moscow, Russia. “My background in legal finance is beneficial when negotiating with financial institutions and helps me better explain to clients the various short sale programs and implications,” Palmer said.

For more information, call 256-665-9486; mail to P.O. Box 6566, Huntsville, AL 35813; email to desiree@southernshortsales.com; or visit southernshortsales.com or Facebook/southernshortsales.