Janna Rankin Scharf, CLHMS, SFR, GRI - Coeur d'Alene Idaho Short Sale Homes for Sale
I haven't posted about Short Sales for a while, so today is the day!
As of today, April 1, 2011, there are 261 homes listed for sale as short sales in the Coeur d'Alene MLS, ranging in price from $35,000 to $2,400,000.
Those of you who follow my blog must know that at any given time I have homes listed for sale as short sales, in varying stages of the oft complicated process. Simultaneously, at any given time I will have buyer clients attempting success in purchasing a short sale.
The past couple of years, short sales have come out of obscurity into the forefront of the real estate market. They are a fact of life. They know no economic or social barriers. Homes are short selling in the Coeur d'Alene area in every price range, it's an equal opportunity condition.
Statistically, homes for sale and selling as short sales in the Coeur d'Alene market make up about 25% of the sales volume right now. Although that means that 3/4 of all sales do NOT involve a short sale, 1/4 is a significant number.
Right now I have five short sale listings with offers being considered by their lenders. They are five stories of sellers falling on hard times. All involve either loss of job, loss of income, or job relocation. Each of them is with a different lender, and my days are full of attempts to communicate on behalf of my clients for status updates and progress reports. I am currently communicating with Bank of America, Chase, Aurora, EMC and First Horizon/MetLife. MetLife is by far the worst of the worst that I've ever dealt with. Right now EMC and GMAC are tied for first place as most responsive, efficient and actually PLEASANT, with Wells Fargo coming in third. Good times!
One of my five short sale listings with an offer pending review, I'm sorry to say, is not going to be a successful short sale. It will be, in fact, the first time I have not been able to come to a successful conclusion when I've had a seller willing to do whatever it takes. I believe that we were doomed from the beginning. I believe that their lender, First Horizons who was bought by MetLife, had no intention of ever approving a short sale. (The reasons why lenders are disincentivized to approve a short sale is a topic for another post...) I've written about this particular case a few times over the past 21 months that we have been working on this short sale. The offer we had last spring of $145,000 wasn't good enough for them. They required $158,000 or no approval. The home sat vacant for another year. This spring, the only other offer we have received, at $130,000 wasn't good enough for them, they insisted on $145,000. They will be foreclosing soon and when they finally sell it, they will get much, much less. I know what you're thinking, that doesn't make sense. You're right!
Most of the time, though, I have short sale success stories to write. Because I am hands on, handling and managing all of my short sale transactions personally, until now I have had a 100% success rate. Part of this is attributed to doing the leg work up front to determine that the seller is a good candidate for a short sale, because short sales aren't for everyone. At the end of the day, when we have achieved success, these closings of short sales are never really causes for celebration. However, they are GOOD DAYS for my sellers, who have obtained closure and are now able to move forward through recovery.
If you or someone you know is struggling to avoid foreclosure, please call me to talk about the possibility of short selling. Often, it is the best possible outcome to a very difficult situation.
It is ALWAYS better than simply letting the home go to foreclosure.
The biggest incentive for a seller is that almost always we are able to negotiate away any future recourse for the mortgage deficiency after the sale. There is never a downside to a seller, you have nothing to lose by trying.
As I have said many times before, at the end of the day when the dust settles, there is peace of mind that comes from knowing that you did everything within your power to do. I have seen it played out in the lives of wonderful clients who have finally closed the door on that unfortunate chapter of their lives and are now rebuilding their lives.
Stay tuned, in the next week or so I should know the fate of my four pending short sale offers currently under review.
Comments(3)