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Short Sale Listings

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Crossroads

Well, it happened again... another showing was lost because a first time home buyers' agent saw the listing was a short sale.  She did what every responsible buyers' agent would do and asked the listing agent just where she was in negotiating the short sale.  And the response came back, "Well to be totally honest we haven't really done much yet."  So, the questioning continued and the buyers agent asked "Have you sent in a package?"  "What type of loan will you be shorting?" "Is there a second lien?" And as the replies ranged from "I am not sure" to "I don't know," the buyers agent realized she should probably steer clear of this listing, if she wanted to be sure her buyers would qualify for the oft sought after First Time Home Buyers Credit. 

Yes, it seems to be a necessary evil these days, the dreaded Short Sale.  And it certainly is making up a good percentage of the market.  However, when you take a listing that needs to short the lienholder, you have only started a very long, somewhat arduous process.  Sadly, many agents are not aware of the necessary procedures and pass along the feeling of well-being to the homeowner, which is of course misplaced.  Many homes are listed above the current market value, closer to what is owed, and thus priced out of the market, while others are at a bargain basement price.  Neither is going to facilitate a successful outcome.  The first will languish on the market while the homeowner marches toward foreclosure, while the latter will procure an offer that will not be accepted by the bank.  In the end, we will have unhappy sellers, unhappy buyers, and the foreclosure problem will still loom large on the horizon.

 

Comments (5)

Ted Tyndall
Davidson Realty Inc. - Saint Augustine, FL
I will help You find the Home YOU want to Buy

Rosaemary, good article. We have an officer of our company that starts the process for our customers as soon as we get the listing. We do this at no cost to the customer. It sure helps the time frame.

Mar 09, 2010 10:06 AM
Valorie Stover, Realtor for Casta del Sol
Casta del Sol Real Estate / HomeSmart Everygreen Realty - Mission Viejo, CA
Mission Viejo,CA, Active Adult Community!

It happens the other way around, too. The buyers agent keeps asking what's going on, how close are we to closing. I check with the bank 3 times a week, are we missing anything? is there anything that I can do? The answer from the bank is "no, you have sent in everything that we asked for" the negotiator is late with the task they were given". The buyers agent has never done a short sale and doesn't know some banks take forever to move forward.

Thanks I needed to vent!!!

Mar 09, 2010 10:14 AM
Jeffrey Smith
Author of 'Realtors Guide To Short Sale Success - Eustis, FL
Short Sale Education

You can't blame the buyers for wanting the 8 grand or the agent for wanting to keep his buyers happy. In a perfect world,every agent would know how to do shortsales (and the rest of their job) and the lenders would have everything done from start to finish in 10-15 days. Keep in mind the sales persons shout when a deal doesn't work..."NEXT!"

Mar 10, 2010 12:38 AM
DEBORAH STONE
Balboa Real Estate San Diego, CA - San Diego, CA

In some market areas in San Diego where mostly all the inventory is a Short Sale or Foreclosure, what other options are there? Short Sales are never guaranteed by the Lender anyhow. If a Buyer wants to buy in that market area, they are between a rock and a hard place, which brings me to my next point:


2010 economic recovery will be slow if Lenders don't step up to the plate and streamline the SS process.

Mar 10, 2010 01:44 AM
John Lee Hooker
Lender Processing Services - Redondo Beach, CA

"2010 economic recovery will be slow if Lenders don't step up to the plate and streamline the SS process."

 

Well said. Good, informative post as well Rosemary. Thanks.

Mar 11, 2010 09:13 AM