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What Takes Short Sales So Long to Close?

By
Real Estate Agent with Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker DRE #00697006

What takes short sales so long to close in Sacramento? That's what buyers want to know. I can tell you what part of the problem is and you're looking at her. OK, not me, personally, but some other Sacramento short sale agent. It's the listing agents who can hold up the short sale process and cause delays.

Short sale listing agents who screw up do 3 major things wrong. The first thing is they don't collect the entire short sale package upfront from the seller. I know, sellers grumble and don't understand why they have to submit all of this stinkin' paperwork, especially since they probably already gave it to the bank before the bank rejected their loan modification. They also don't understand why they have to give it to me now when we don't even have an offer yet because the home isn't listed nor on the market.

The second thing some listing agents do is they don't call the bank or email the negotiator on a regular basis, at least once every 2 weeks and preferably once a week, to find out the status of the file. Has the BPO been ordered and completed? Is a negotiator even assigned to the file? Is there another layer through which the file must pass such as Fannie Mae or MI?

The third thing is the files are often submitted with incomplete documents or digital signatures. Sometimes you don't know which documents the bank might request because it's a special circumstance that requires the extra documents. I know some agents who don't even read their sellers' hardship letter. I read them. If I spot something that requires documentation, I ask for it before the lender asks for it.

If you're thinking about buying a short sale in Sacramento, ask your agent to find out if the listing agent has a complete short sale package from the seller. More important, ask when the offer, HUD and short sale package will be sent to the sellers' bank. If the answer is vague, like sometime next week or they don't know, you might want to think twice about buying that short sale.

I strive to submit all packages the same day or worst case scenario, by the 3rd day. Within 72 hours. That's why my Sacramento short sales don't take forever and a day to close. My sellers and buyers have better things to do with their lives than wait around for their file to be submitted to the bank.  Their files are not just a number to me and my team. The clock is tickin'.

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Elizabeth Weintraub is co-partner of Weintraub & Wallace Team of Top Producing Realtors, an author, home buying expert at The Balance, a Land Park resident, and a veteran real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown, Carmichael and East Sacramento, as well as tract homes in Elk Grove, Natomas, Roseville and Lincoln. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put our combined 80 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold. DRE License # 00697006.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice; it could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.

Comments (6)

Michelle Gibson
Hansen Real Estate Group Inc. - Wellington, FL
REALTOR

Elizabeth - This is an excellent post!  Prior to even showing a short sale listing I interview the listing agent because in my opinion that is one of the keys to having a successful short sale closing.

Apr 30, 2011 05:27 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Elizabeth, in this area there are not that many listing agents who have even handled a short sale and are pretty clueless about how the process works.  While I haven't completed one, I know what to ask when I'm the buyer broker, and the answers usually encourage me to leave it and go to another property.

Apr 30, 2011 07:26 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

Words of wisdom from someone who knows Sacramento Short Sales.  The three things you outline as being most important are what the agents that know how to close Short Sales do.

Apr 30, 2011 08:27 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Michelle: I have only one thing to say to you. I WANT YOUR HAIR. You could star in a shampoo commercial.

Hi Pat: Even though I mostly sell short sales, I tell buyers that if they have other choices that are better, perhaps they should pursue those choices. That's probably why I represent sellers and I don't like to represent short sale buyers.

Hi Chris Ann: Hey, I see your smiling face on the home page a lot now. You're going gang busters! Good for you!

Apr 30, 2011 02:58 PM
Michelle Gibson
Hansen Real Estate Group Inc. - Wellington, FL
REALTOR

Elizabeth - I actually just cut it all off and donated it to Locks of Love, so now I'm working on getting a new picture.

Apr 30, 2011 04:45 PM
Melissa Zavala
Broadpoint Properties - Escondido, CA
Broker, Escondido Real Estate, San Diego County

I like your short list. One thing I have also noticed is that some do not even begin with the second until they have completed working with the first.

May 01, 2011 03:00 AM