Buyer Agents-Please Get Educated!!!
Short Sale is not a fad name. It has been here and active for several years now. And no, it will not be going away anytime soon! So buyer agents please get educated!
I work actively with both buyers and sellers of short sales. I know this is a very confusing segment of the real estate market, and it is always changing, but it is important to keep up this the changes in this segment of the Real Estate Market.
I currently have a listing that I have advertised as a Pre Approved short sale. This advertisement is done for two reasons:
First- my seller financed this home with an FHA loan. FHA mortgages can be pre approved for a short sale. Listing agent, seller, or third party negotiator will submit a full short sale package which will include:
______ Borrower's Authorization
______ Lender Name, Phone Number and Account Number
______ Financial Worksheet
______ 2 years of tax returns with supporting W2s*
______ 2 months bank statements*
______ 2 most recent pay stubs*
______ If Borrower self-employed - current financial statement from accountant
______ Hardship letter stating reason for default
______ Listing Agreement
______ Listing Sheet
______ CMA
Other documents as requested.
The lender will approve a selling price range with an acceptable net proceed, along with acceptable terms, such as close by a certain time, and acceptable closing cost credits.
Second- My sellers had had a fully approved buyer that lost their job the day we got the short sale approved.
I had recently had a buyers agent tell me they were going to put in an offer for a buyer client for $20000 lower than the pre approved amount, ask for $5000 for closing cost (FHA approved 1% closing cost credit if the financing is a FHA product and that amounted to far less than $5000), close in 90 days (we have an approval for only 45 days) and finance a regular FHA, this house needed an FHA 203K. All terms and conditions were disclosed to the buyer's agent prior to her showing the property.
If I had recommended to my seller to take the offer, we would have lost precious time (possibly forcing them into foreclosure), and the buyer may have lost their home inspection cost, as well as attorney fees, and appraisal cost. This could have been an overall costly mistake if at least one of us agents wasn't educated in the short sale process.
There are many short sale education programs out there, CDPE (certified distress property expert), LMC (Loss Mitigation Certification), as well as thousands of articles on short sales, and if the agent is with a large branded company like RE/MAX there is hundreds of ATOD training, and even the local Realtor organizations are holding educational seminars. So buyer agents, "Please get educated", it may save your precious clients some money.
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