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Client question..."Why do they call it a "short sale"?"

By
Real Estate Agent with Team Momentum Keller Williams Realty Tacoma

Yesterday I met with a client who is shopping for 2 homes and showed him a couple.  Much of what we are looking at right now of course is a short sale or is bank owned.  We have already made an offer on one house that is a short sale and we are waiting for approval of course.....he has waited a week already and no answer.  I of course had told him already that it may take a month or even more before we know anything or even have an update.....

Mind you this is a client who I have closed deals in under 72 hours with and who a long closing is usually 21 days for him.  So he says....".Short sale, why do they call it a short sale? It does not seem short to me"  This strikes me very funny, but also true.  I am usually on the other side of the short sale representing the seller and it sure does not seem short (in time) there either.

Since you as a client or Realtor working the Tacoma market are likely looking @ more short sales as well, here is my feed back on them.

The good news is that most banks are putting on more staff to handle the load of short sales needing approval and in many cases what used to take 3 months is taking closer to 3 weeks now.  This is good news for those that are waiting for approval.  But still it does not seem short in time since only then does the buyer usually do their inspection, appraisal and have their loan underwritten.....Good news the bank very often if you make the offer early enough ( not just days before the foreclosure sale date) usually approves selling the house for much less than is owed on it. ( at least this is good news for the buyer and maybe the seller who can walk away)

So here is what I think these sales accurately should be called.....

Inexpensive, unsure, long sales. 

 This would be more accurate.  Some times the bank approves and some times it does not.  ( your odds are increased if there is some one who regularly works with the banks working on your side) Inexpensive since they are usually a good deal ( not always) and long sales for the time you wait for approval.....of course if we are looking at the time that they bank often gives the buyer to close once they have approved the sale, we are back to calling them short sales.

 

If you would like more information on purchasing or selling a home in our current Greater Tacoma area, please call us we are here to help.  Team Momentum, Keller Williams Realty Tacoma, Anna Matsunaga-253 212 1252.  You can also visit us on line @ www.teammomentumrealestate.com

Courtney Cooper
Cooper Jacobs - Seattle, WA
206-850-8841

I completely agree with you - long sales!  I am seeing more flexibility as well lately:)

Aug 27, 2008 03:48 AM
Anonymous
Jonathan Christopher

Ha ha!  That's very true that they can be unsure and long but if you hang in there you can most definitely get a great deal.  Short sales are here to stay until the real estate market rebounds which could be quite a few years.

Aug 27, 2008 09:21 AM
#2
Colleen Fischesser Northwest Property Shop
NextHome Experience - Chelan, WA
A Tradition of Trust in the Pacific NW since 1990!

"Inexpensive, unsure, long sales. "  Sad, but oh so true!!!

Aug 27, 2008 09:50 AM
Jeff Polonsky
loansnjobs.com and EasyWayToShop.Com - Mill Creek, WA

Interesting post. I liked what you said and can relate. As a result of the exact same thing, in recent months, we have gotten away from the short sales for the exact reason you outline. We have been going to the auctions now just about every Fri. in Snohomish and King county and in many cases, found the results to be far better than the short sales that we have done in the past. Things are chaging pretty fast at the Auctions and they are not now what they were a short time ago.

Aug 29, 2008 05:11 AM
Paul Pival
Coldwell Banker Bain - Tacoma, WA
A Realtor with the soul of a professor.

An interesting way to look at it--of course "short" refers to the amount the bank will accept rather than the time it takes for them to respond. One reason it takes so long for the banks to respond is that bankers have a stack of short sale proposals on their desks. If you don't contact them every two days, your file will be buried by other proposals as they come in.

Sep 02, 2008 11:37 AM
Brian West
Centennial Solutions, LLC - Silverdale, WA

The amount of time untill forclosure also plays a big part in how long the approval process is. We've had houses that were very close to floreclosure approved in a week and ones that were a ways off or the homeowner was not yet past due take 6 months; each situation is diffenent. Paul is right about being persistant but often the reason the package isn't making any progress is that it is sitting on the wrong persons desk and no matter how much you bug him the package won't budge. I LOVE short sales, but then again I've had a lot of success with them.

Sep 04, 2008 04:16 PM
Ann Casey
John L Scott - Bothell, WA

Wow, totally true. I wrote an offer for a client 2 weeks ago. We are still waiting and the Realtor assures us a response is coming. Our closing date is in late November, as per their request!

Sep 04, 2008 04:18 PM
David Chamaty
Realty Executives Brio - Mill Creek, WA

This is a great post as some of the listings we have are short sales. Its good to kknow that once we recieve an offer we (cross our fingers) wont be waiting tooo long.

Thanks for the update.

David

Oct 16, 2008 09:07 AM