Another Manassas, VA Short Sale SOLD!
This Manassas, VA Short Sale was on and off the market four times starting in August 8, 2008. The first attempt at Short Sale had a denial from the first trust holder, Bank of America. The second go round was better, but Bank of America countered the contracted sales price with an above market value price, so that buyer couldn't settle and the deal fell out. The third attempt, of our consecutive attempts at marketing, fell through on October 3, 2009 when Bank of America's approval letter didn't meet Northern Virginia's definition of Short Sale Approval on two points: 1) The Sellers were asked 
to make a cash contribution at closing and 2) Bank of America was reserving the right to pursue a deficiency judgment.
You would think a Short Sale Bank in a market of falling values, would do everything in their power to get the Short Sale to close. But back in those days, Bank of America was strictly on a "No Changes to the Approval Letter" policy. So in this case, a few days before settlement, the Sellers who had consulted with attorneys, decided it wasn't in their best interest to sell the property in a Short Sale. Oddly enough, the second trust with HSBC was never an issue in any of these attempts at Short Sale
In late summer 2011 the Sellers were contacted by Bank of America to sell the same property in a Cooperative Short Sale. This simply was a pre-approved Short Sale in which the Sellers were given relocation assistance in the form of cash to THEM at closing. The paperwork and appraisal process of the Property that preceded the listing took about three months. When Bank of America finally had a list price and was ready for my clients to list, it was October 22, 2011. We were under contract on October 24...just two days later.
For a Short Sale that was supposed to have already been pre-approved at the list price of $127,800, it was odd that we didn't get approval from Bank of America on the full price offer until January 23, 2012. In that time frame, however, HSBC had felt after more than three years, the situation was hopeless and released their second trust lien. So the wait wasn't completely in vain.
This two bedroom Stonington condo settled in a cash deal for $127,800 on February 24, 2012. We had some minor hiccups with getting final HUD approval, but Bank of America was super cooperative and fast in helping us get those issues resolved in less than forty-five minutes on the day of settlement. What a difference three plus years makes in the land of Bank of America Short Sales.
If you are considering a Short Sale, call an agent with experience and success. I've been closing Short Sales for my Sellers since 2007.
Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker-Licensed in Virginia, Long & Foster REALTORS®
703-402-0037, ChrisAnn@LNF.com, www.SpeakingOfShortSales.com
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