Chuck, I am currently working on a short sale and to be honest with you, I am a nervous wreck. The voices on the other end of the phone at the bank are not friendly ones at all. I am willing to do my first short sale because 1) not only it is my first one 2) for experience but 3) I am offering my services for a friend who happens to be one of my closest friends and I could not find a way to say no to her given her situation. (Don't we all have them?) Short sales are really not my forte. Good luck to you and wish me luck as well.

In Ohio many Real Estate companies are requiring their agents to attend short sale classes in order to do short sales.  If the agents don't want to do them they can refer and receive a fee to a specialist in their office.  This certainly doesn't make your transactions easier but in the future maybe partnering with someone who specializes may reduce some of your headaches! 

Chuck-From my experience, you are a 100% on target.  It won't happen overnight and it won't happen unless the listing agent works the phone hard!  Thanks for making a great point.   

ok., now i have a buyer that just put an offer in on a short sale; how long approx, should i be looking for a response back from the listing agent?

Frank Bailey

I haven't done one, yet.  But, from what I hear, they almost always take a looong time.  Hang in there!   :)

I've also experienced great difficulties and much frustration with Short Sales.

The real question is does a "Short Sale" really benefit the Seller?

Every short sale is different.  Some can close quickly as my last one did-listing to closing in 48 days and others can take longer.  I'm 30 days into my second one and waiting for the value from the BPO that was done 10 days ago to be uploaded to the system.  Whenever I call the bank I am polite, complementary and ask as many questions as I can without being a pest.  I find the processors to be responsive everytime.  Even if they don't have all the answers they are doing the best they can. 

I represented the buyers on one that after 6 weeks we withdrew our offer.  We never did get a response to it.

CHUCK-You make some good points and I think you're on the right path. The problem with short sales is that many Brokers are not giving the necessary training it deserves and therefore the agents are out there and trying to see if anything sticks. As you say, the agents that just submit paperwork and wait will not be successful.

The secret to short sales is preparation. You will need to get all your paperwork ready and submitted all at once. If you start to send them documents piece meal then you run the risk of papers getting lost or shoved in the wrong files. A huge reason for most of the short sale denials come because of the BPO number coming in higher than the contract price. It is very, very important that the agent go to the BPO and make your case as to the value of the property. Take your comps and your reasoning for the pricing. Many of the BPO's are done by other agents that have their own business to run and might not give the valuation the time and research it needs, especially if there are no recent sales.

If you have a buyer it is imperative that you do an interview with that agent to see if they have idea of what they're doing. If you get the sense they are just winging it--don't take your client to see that property. It will be frustrating and in the end that client can get annoyed and decide not to buy anything.

The more you prepare BEFORE you send the package, the better the results will be.

Chuck, you're right on the money.  You should know how to do a short sale  -- from evaluating the property and putting the package together to negotiating a fair price and closing the deal.  There are third party negotiators who also do this all the time.  They negotiate in bulk and know all the people involved at the Banks, and deal with them on a daily basis.  The company I work with is one of them.  We specialize in everything about Foreclosures and Short Sales.  We negotiate, buy, sell and at the same time, look out for the Seller.  We could even take over the negotiation if it has already been initiated and speed up the process.  We also offer Free Foreclosure Seminars and make presentations to Real Estate Agents and Brokers.  Our office is based in Cherry Hill, NJ, but we're expanding nationwide, so if you would like some information on how to do Short Sales or need help with your Short Sales, please e-mail me at BeulahP@foreclosuredivision.com and I'll be more than happy to get you help.