Konnie, it is a crying shame because my buyers love the house, are pre-approved, have the down payment and closing costs and are devastated they are not purchasing this home. Being brand new and first time buyers they had high hopes. It was not the ideal way to start our buyer's brokerage relationship, especially since there were other homes in the range they specified that were not a "short sale" that they could have bid on and missed out on because we were "waiting patiently" with the dud... We thought we would spend the money helping a family in distress. Now the sellers and the buyers are very unhappy... I am unhappy... I hate wasting my time...

Roger, very true and sometimes it is helpful if agents use the range feature to show a home $375K-$475K with the short sale target falling in the mid range. A lot of agents do that in New York so if a bid comes in that will get the homeowner out debt free they can take it.

Also, when the agent makes the listing appointment and discovers the homeowner wants to do a short sale, the listing agent has the option to reschedule the appointment during business hours so that they can talk to the loss mitigation department with the homeowner present. I have met people at their jobs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, sat in my car and call conferenced with clients on speaker phone with lawyers, mortgage brokers and lenders.

It gives the bank, agent and homeowner an opportunity to establish that the agent will be representing the sellers regarding the short, will give the agent the opportunity to make an outline of what the bank requires in order to get the approval expidited and the listing can be entered appropriately into the system. If the agent does not want to reschedule the listing appointment, or meet people where they are, then he/she/they should hold off entering the MLS info and call conference with the bank and sellers ASAP from their office. 24 hours will not kill anyone.

Kathy, it is a crying shame because everyone wants the same thing, to sell the home.

I think the banks are a little difficult in making up their mind because they want to figure out if it is better to try and get all of the equity out of the home at an auction as opposed to losing a portion of the money they planned to make off of the loan. Either way, time is on the lending institution's side because they control the fate of the home unless they are paid in full. 

I am of the school of thought that the home should always be placed on the market for close to market value, leaving some  built-in-equity for the buyer so when the purchaser makes their down payment they are walking into a positive investment. I usually pass over over-priced homes unless a buyer insists they have to have it. I do the calculations right in front of the buyers and always explain my reasoning for being for or against an offer price.

I had a buyer just recently like a home priced at $330K, which was reasonable for NYC. However, when we started researching the history of the home and market value for the last five years, we discovered it was assessed at $295K. Suddenly, that $330K price was no longer attractive. We offered $300K and are waiting for a reply.

Richard, thank you for the feature. I appreciate it. :-)

I know exactly what you are talking about. There are houses in Forest Hills, NY that sellers are listing at $1.2M when the property is assessed for $850K. One home went under contract and when the appraisal came in, the contract was canceled.

Then you have the ones who brought their home in 1979 for $35K who leave it to their kids who use it as an ATM machine until they realize they are going to lose the home. They will put it on the market for $100K over what they owe, thinking they are doing great because it's a "free home" and they want to start over. The home will sell, but the market value of the homes surrounding it will take a hit because if enough people undervalue their homes the whole zip code will suffer.

Add the pre-foreclosures slashing their prices in competition with each other and the next thing you know Mr. and Mrs. X who worked very hard all their lives maintaining and upgrading their home can not even get a lookie-Lou through the door because no one wants to pay a decent price for a pristine stellar home.

People have got to get a grip when accepting a listing. I may act silly and flippant on-line, but I do know my neighborhoods and numbers.

I take this job very seriously. I have a lot of bills that need to be paid. When you are renting, paying a mortgage, have crazy kids and going to college, it all adds up... ;-)

Susie, I hope that is a good thing (LOL). They can be very useful for everyone involved if both sides are on the same page. I do not mind waiting on the bank when the answer is a possibility. I do mind if there was never an answer forthcoming because the package was never in play to begin with. One should never use a buyer as a gambit to get the short sale. It puts a bad taste in the buyer's team mouth, making us want to steer clear of doing business with specific firms in the future.

LOL @ Melodious. Hmm... ;-)

Ann, I second that. :-)

Robin, I have been bouncing off the walls with this. :-)

Ricki, very well said. :-)

Michael, very well said and excellent talking points.