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"I moved out ...Now the House will be easy to show" said the Short Sale Seller

By Sally K. & David L. Hanson

Real Estate Agent with EXP Realty 414-525-0563 57026-90 Broker

January 12, 2010 11:50 PM

We are very fortunate....our short sales, 99 per cent of the time are in wonderful condition...and it is a great to see a buyer appreciate that the house was well taken care of....and the price is below the market...it is a great value....and for a little patience, they will have a home that might not otherwise be affordable. dining room

We often stage our short sales....window treatments....table cloths...bedspreads, pillows, throws, slipcovers...wall hangings. We make sure that rooms without overhead lighting always have lamps and tables so showings after 5 during the darker winter hours. We make sure that the house has its best face forward to win the hearts and checkbooks of buyers who won't mind waiting for the opportunity to call this house their new home. We explained to the home owner...in person and in writing....there would be plenty of time to move after we got an offer. This is such an uncertain time....we make sure everything is clearly understood...and every homeowner knows how to reach us at any time.

We e-mailed and voice mailed our seller to tell him our recent price reduction had gotten the attention of the market....and we were calling to confirm a showing. We had gotten the house "dresssed up and ready to sell" from the towels in the bathroom to the tray table in the master bedroom....flowers....and then he said....

"I moved out....the house is empty except for the snowblower in the garage...now it will be easier to show."

Know that as a short sale seller...one of the first steps to getting on your financial feet...paying down the credit cards, paying back the relatives, setting a repayment program for the medical bills is becauase you are not paying the mortgage....substituting a rent payment while it is not as much...doesn't help you. Having an empty house to show...doesn't help it sell faster.

If you are listing or considering listing your home as a short sale...talk with your realtor before you make decisions that in the end, will not help the property to sell....and won't help you to recover financially.

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Sharon Tara

Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH

Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Typical seller mentallity unfortunately! The really sad thing is that there are realtors who also think empty is better. How frustrating for you! Poor seller, they thought they were doing the right thing, but vacant is not a good thing!

Jan 13, 2010 01:02 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

He knew that leaving bedsreads, tablecloths, pillows etc all over the floor could not have been the right thing...and for him, beyond our comprehension, neither is saving money !

Jan 13, 2010 02:12 AM

Jay Markanich

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC - Bristow, VA

Home Inspector - servicing all Northern Virginia

Do they call it a short sale because your knees hit the underside of the table?

Jan 13, 2010 09:11 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Only if you have thick thighs :)...or are vertically challenged...

Jan 13, 2010 09:23 AM

Ellie McIntire

Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate - Ellicott City, MD

Luxury service in Central Maryland

If you have taken the time and effort to stage a home then it is crazy that your seller would move out. Short sale or other! How frustrating.

Jan 13, 2010 10:41 PM

Janna Scharf

Keller Williams Realty Coeur d'Alene - Coeur d'Alene, ID

Coeur d'Alene Idaho Real Estate Expert

I had some homeonwers move out of their house shortly after we listed it for a short sale. We discussed that they HAD to keep the heat on. About a week before closing, without a word to anyone, they cut off the heat, water and utilities. New buyer moved in to find burst pipes....

Jan 14, 2010 12:56 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Hi Ellie...you would think that they would appreciate the effort, time, expense, attention to detail....and then oh not.....

Hey Janna....the trust factor with the seller has disappeared...so thanks to you...I will give his attorney a heads up today....I have kept her in the loop and she has been without comment...which is normal...but hoping that the threat of breaking pipes gets everyone's attention...

Jan 14, 2010 01:16 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Hi Ellie...you would think that they would appreciate the effort, time, expense, attention to detail....and then oh not.....

Jan 14, 2010 01:16 AM

Jeffrey Smith

Author of 'Realtors Guide To Short Sale Success - Eustis, FL

Short Sale Education

I seem to be working shortsales that are under (sometimes WAY under) $100,000 so i can't see staging. I hope you stage after a BPO so the staging doesn't up the bpo cuz we know it does affect it.

Jan 22, 2010 11:38 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

No Jefrey that would defeat the purpose...short sales aren't pigs without lipsticks...they are a place someone called home....and while our price range is not the same....the object is to make it look good and get the over asking offers we get....not to our minds, take pictures of magically magnified cracks....

Jan 22, 2010 12:57 PM

Don Sabinske

Don Sabinske, Sabinske & Associates Inc. - Zimmerman, MN

Sabinske & Associates Inc.

It can be so frustrating dealing with sellers who "just don't get it". We encounter the same problem from time to time. Even the constant contact doesn't work with some people. Your explanation of not making a mortgage payment, but paying rent, was a bonus!

Feb 03, 2010 11:15 PM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

When you have spent hours with staging..measurng, hanging, placing, etc...to find a seller who vacated the property and left your stuff all over the floor...here there and everywhere...urgh....

Feb 03, 2010 11:33 PM

Tiffany L. Young

Young Real Estate Group - Weston, FL

GRI, ABR - South Florida Real Estate

Thank you for putting this out there. Even after educating some sellers they still feel that they know best. You win some you lose some.

Feb 05, 2010 08:03 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

You got it Tiffany...if a seller wants to lose by paying more than they have to pay...oh wellllll...

Feb 05, 2010 08:08 AM

Charles Stallions

Charles Stallions Real Estate Services - Pensacola, FL

850-476-4494 - Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze, Fl.

I find for the most part here that they are well kept and even the foreclosures are. That being said people are just walking away, what else is there to do.

Feb 09, 2010 02:10 PM

Kevin Vitali

EXIT Realty Beatrice Associates - Middleton, MA

Helping Massachusetts Home Buyers and Home Sellers

And then the bank checks and finds the house is vacant and changes the locks... and you spend days or weeks trying to track down a key. Short sale sellers should stay in their homes until they get an approval or near approval. Staing in a home during a short sale will:

Prevent damage to the home- frozen pipes and so on.....
Usually make the home show better
Allow the homeowner not to pay rent somewhere
Prevent people breaking inti the home
Prevent the bank from taking the home as abandoned

Mar 05, 2010 11:08 PM

Matthew Naumann

Exit Realty Charleston Group - Goose Creek, SC

Goose Creek, SC Real Estate Agent

Great Post.

There are definitely pros and cons to having the seller stay in the home.

Thanks for sharing,

Matt Naumann

Mar 25, 2010 08:27 AM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

It should be a benefit to the seller to stay...and gives them the opportunity to save or pay back borrowed funds.

Mar 25, 2010 02:42 PM

Robert Peronne

Philadelphia Realty Exchange - Philadelphia, PA

Associate Broker

Don't the terms of most mortgage documents require the borrower to keep the home occupied.

Mar 31, 2010 05:28 PM

Sally K. & David L. Hanson

EXP Realty 414-525-0563 - Brookfield, WI

WI Real Estate Agents - Luxury - Divorce

Interesting thought...we have not had a seller who did not continue to maintain the home...that is, keep heat on, snow shoveled, grass cut...occupied...hmmm...i guess in being relieved of the mortgage and the lender of the possible foreclosure reading documents gets lost in the shuffle.

Mar 31, 2010 10:32 PM