There are a number of complexities involved in short sales.  In order to understand the entire short sales process, please read the Short Sales in Branford CT and New Haven County series posted here:

Short Sales - Part 1 - What You Need To Know

Short Sales - Part 2 - Are You Qualified To Do A Short Sale?

Short Sales - Part 3 - What You Need To Do To Prepare For The Short Sale

Short Sales - Part 4 - What The buyer Needs To Have With A Short Sale Offer

Short Sales - Part 5 - Myths and Truths About Short Sales

When a buyer has made an offer all of his/her supporting documents will be included.  the seller and their agent have all the seller documents put together for their short sale package.

Every document will be checked by the agent to make sure that every document is filled out correctly and that the loan number is included on every page.  The agent will now contact the third party lender to get the instructions to submit the package to that lender. 

The majority of lenders will request that the package be faxed.  Other lenders may ask that the package be send by express mail. Whatever the method the lender chooses, keep a duplicate copy of the short sale package ready to re-send in case the original gets lost or is not received.

Insider Tip:  Save time by purchasing a stamp kit at Office Depot so you can stamp all the pages of the short sale package with the loan number instead of hand-writing it on 80 to 100 pages of documents.

Once the short sale package has been sent, confirm receipt by calling the lender to ask if they've received the package.  If the lender has received the package ask what was the last page they received, what exactly was on that last page and how many pages were in the package.

Insider Tip:  Get on the phone to the lender first thing in the morning before other callers start calling. Be the first in line

Once phone contact is made to the lender, confirm that they have received and package and that this lender is holding the note for this property.  Many times a seller will be making payments to one note holder only to find out that the note had been sold to someone else.

Quite often there are note holders that service loans they do not own.  In these instances, the servicer oversees the care of all of the short sale paperwork and acts on behalf of the note holder.

Lender may also contract their short sales to companies that just do short sale processing and negotiations. These companies are getting paid upon the completion of each short sale and are quicker to respond and you can usually get right through to the negotiator on the file.

Then there are the lenders trying to do it all by themselves.  They own and service the note and handle every detail of the short sale. These tend to be the most difficult lenders to get through to. They have no experience in doing short sales and are totally overloaded with files.  You are working with a a salaried employee who has little to no knowledge of the real estate business. Many times a buyer is gone by the time these lenders do something with your short sale package.

Insider Tip:  Even if  you do lose the first buyer, you've accomplished three things.  One, you've completed your short sale package and it is submitted to the bank.  Two, you have demonstrated to the bank that you are making every effort to sell the property in  many cases delaying a foreclosure.  Three, you have discovered what the lender tolerances are for a deal they will accept.  This will make it easier to negotiate offers and contracts with subsequent buyers.  More information on that in the next post, Part 7.

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Contact Donna Bigda, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, Realtor®, RE/MAX Alliance Licensed Realtor® in the State of Connecticut at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, New Haven and the rest of shoreline area in New Haven County Connecticut.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Branford CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market and now is one of the best times to buy while interest rates remain low. For more information on Branford CT real estate homes or condos, see Branford CT real estate or sign up today to get access the hottest new listings here Branford CT homes and condos. 

To keep up to date on the current state of the Branford CT Real Estate Market & other information about Branford CT, subscribe to my blog via email here or visit online at www.connecticutshorelineblog.com.  If email is your communication preference, email me at donna@donnabigda.com.

Disclaimer:  All information provided by this author is strictly an opinion, is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from several sources, which may or may not be deemed reliable at the time of researching this article and may be time sensitive.

Copyright © 2009 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*Short Sales in Branford Connecticut and New Haven County – After The Offer Comes In - Part 6*

P.S.  If you are listing your home as a short sale in New Haven County Connecticut make sure you hire an agent who knows how to do short sales, can give you the expertise to help relieve the uncertainty and most of all, help your family.  Call me at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 and let’s get started on the path to recovery.