How To Make Your Short Sale Shorter

There are many aspects of the short sale process that are out of a short sale seller’s and short sale agent’s control. How long the short sale lender will take to process the file, whether there is more than one servicer on your loan, and whether there is mortgage insurance certainly impact timelines on short sale approval, and they cannot control be controlled. However, there are several factors that a short sale seller CAN control that will help a short sale stay short:

• Have your financial documents ready. That means no “running start” to your listing. Have all the documents needed for your short sale in your short sale agent’s hands at the beginning of the process. If your short sale lender throws a loop and asks for an additional document, turn it around as quickly as possible.
• Make the property easy to show. Tuesdays between 2pm – 4pm may be the most convenient time for you, but it may not be convenient for potential buyers. Most buyers want to see your home weekday evenings after work or during the day on the weekend. Make sure your home is available for them to see during those times with only a reasonable amount of notice.
• Price the property to sell. Selling a short sale is not like selling a regular listing. A short sale is meant to be a quick sale. It should be priced so that an almost immediate reaction is received from the market. The fact that you paid twice the list price for the home should not factor into the list price. It should be priced according to the market, comps, buyer demand and should reflect that it is a short sale which requires the buyer to wait for lender approval.
• Find the right buyer. Many short sale delays are caused by buyers walking away from the deal and the process. Make sure the buyer’s situation works for a short sale, if they need to move in 30 days, this may not be the right property for them. Get some commitment from them — require them to put their deposit in escrow and do their physical inspection and appraisal up front. Then, if the buyer’s inspections and appraisal are complete and their loan is fully approved, once short sale approval is obtained, a quick closing is a certainty.
• Hire an experienced short sale agent. An experienced short sale agent can help you avoid common short sale pitfalls and errors. Having an experienced short sale agent handling your short sale negotiations can make all the difference in how smooth and quickly the process will go and I highly recommend it.

Before deciding whether to short sell your home, it is essential that you obtain legal and tax advice, and consult with an experienced local short sale agent. If you are considering a short sale of your Santa Maria, Orcutt, or Nipomo home and would like a short sale consultation, please call my office to schedule a meeting or a telephone consultation at (805) 938-9950.

Tni LeBlanc is an independent Real Estate Broker, Attorney, and Short Sale Agent. She is a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE), Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) and Certified HAFA Specialist (CHS) serving the Santa Maria, Orcutt and Five Cities area of the Central Coast of California.

* Nothing in this article is intended to solicit listings currently under contract with another broker. This article offers no legal or tax advice. Those considering a short sale are advised to consult with their own attorney for legal advice, and their tax professional for tax advice prior to entering into a short sale listing agreement.

Copyright© 2012 Tni LeBlanc *How To Make Your Short Sale Shorter*