I had two out of three short sale listings recently in Oklahoma City where distressed homeowners buried their head in the sand and were in danger of having the real estate they owned go into foreclosure. One waited until when we got the property to list, only two weeks remained until the sheriff's sale date. We got it immediately under contract, but with only 10 days left, it is requiring daily followup, and we won't know for sure that we have had it removed until three days before. When you are ten payments late and have received the notice of foreclosure, the time to call a Realtor is long passed. We will know on Monday so we have our fingers crossed.
Two more were phone calls today. One client called early in the process, we have a meeting set up tomorrow, and he is fully cooperative. Job loss and a relocation to another state is in his future, and he understand the advantage of the short sale. I am afraid that he is the exception to the rule. The other call was from a divorced couple, one of the main reasons for short sales, and it seems that they will argue their way to the courthouse sale. When you have a distressed sale, you have a distressed homeowner. All we can do as realtors is give them the facts and hopefully they will make a rational decision. This is what makes short sales even harder. You process three times the paperwork, spent more hours on the contract process, then when you add in the emotional turmoil that you have to deal with, it is not surprising that most Realtors don't want to work these sales, and they shouldn't unless they are prepared.
Given enough time we can make a big difference in people's lives when it comes to the preforeclosure process. We can limit the pain to two years, save people's jobs who have a security clearance, keep the Fair Isaac hit to a minimum, and have people who have a furture to look forward to rather than a past failure to dwell on. The problem with procrasination and letting a home go to foreclosure when the short sale option is out there, is that at some distance from the event, they will realize they made a huge financial mistake. So if you find yourself in dire straits don't wait, and don't dispair. There is an answer.
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