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Short Sales or "Long Sales" in Miami

By
Real Estate Agent with www.HomesForVIPs.com - Keller Williams Realty

Many of the best priced properties for sale these days are either short sales or bank owned foreclosures. More often than not these short sales are taking a long time to close. Many take a few months; some much longer. There have been a number of cases where a short sale will take over 6 months to close. The length of time it takes to go from contract to closing can vary depending on the individual situation and the parties involved (lenders, seller, buyer, etc.). Of course, there are those welcome instances when they take less a few months, however, we believe it is vital to the success of the transaction to set realistic expectations with the buyers so they do not become frustrated or impatient by the process.

Typically, it takes 20-30 days once an offer is made to hear back from the lenders on whether or not they will accept the offer, then the process begins. If there are two lenders involved, it could take a lot longer. Between the bureaucracy of the banks, the overwhelming amount of distressed properties, lack of adequately trained staff and the communication and coordination of many documents and parties, Realtors and others involved in these transactions go into these transactions expecting there to be delays,  miscommunications and other obstacles in getting the transactions processed and eventually closed. Foreclosures are usually easier to deal with and if the offer is accepted, they take less time to close generally speaking, however if the Realtor or title company representing the bank/lender is not competent, the transaction could get more complicated and not work out due to many reasons.

Buyers who are looking for the "great deals" have to be wary of these transactions before they commit their time and money to a short sale or PreForeclosure. As a full-time professional Realtor who is constantly searching the market for the best buys, I often find excellent values that are not short sales or foreclosures. Many clients often ask me about pursuing a short sale or foreclosure. I believe that they are worth pursuing only if there are not other properties for sale in the same building or neighborhood that might be easier to buy for about the same price or lower.

Also, it is easier to negotiate with an owner who still has a lot of equity left in the property. Depending on the neighborhood or building that is being searched. There is on average one closed sale each month out of every 40 to 50 properties for sale. In other words, sellers realize that unless their properties are priced aggressively, they will not move, so there is an increasing awareness of what it really takes to sell a property.

For more information on real estate in Miami Beach, Miami, short sales and bank foreclosures, please call us Toll Free at 1-800-475-3430 or contact me at 786.553.0697 or email me at Michael@HomesForVIPs.com. Our website is www.HomesForVIPs.com. We specialize in working with homeowners who want to avoid foreclosurein the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas; visit our website at www.PreventMiamiForeclosures.com.

Comments (2)

Gail Gladstone
Long Island Business Brokerage, Inc. - Huntington, NY

Thanks for the "heads up" on Miami short sales.  I am just doing one in Port St Lucie which has so far taken 3 months and still going strong.  Obviously, the banks are drowning in them.

Short Sales are boosting their numbers here in Long Island and the Long Island Board of Realtors now has a new designation, Short Sale Specialist.

Jun 08, 2008 06:45 AM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Well it is hard t respond to someone who is afraid to leave their name and other identifying information. Why would you not identify yourself?

By the way, I have done several and here in Miami with the banks in their current state of overwhelm and understaffed and with a number of realtors who are not properly trained, the short sales are taking a lot longer in most cases than traditional sales.

Jun 20, 2008 08:22 AM
#2