Can You Offer Less Than the Approved Price on a HAFA Short Sale?
Short Sales in Central Maryland are becoming more common. Sellers are realizing that there is a sense of urgency due to the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expiring at the end of 2012. The HAFA program was created to help sellers with hardship.
If you are a buyer or seller in the Metro Baltimore area, selecting a Realtor with SHORT SALE experience is essential for a successful settlement.
Can You Offer Less Than the Approved Price on a HAFA Short Sale?
This was a question that came across an Internet forum last night from a buyer in Bristow, VA. Questions that buyers have regarding Short Sales are often best answered by starting from the listing side.
When a seller has been approved for a HAFA Short Sale, there are three things they are gaining.
1) The absolute certainty that their Short Sale is going to be approved.
2) A guarantee that there will be no deficiency judgment issued against them.
3) A monetary incentive in the form of $3,000 to help them relocate.
Sellers are given 120 days to get a contract that meets the terms laid out by HAFA. This includes a pre-determined sales price. The Short Sale bank has already determined the value of the home and given the Listing Agent a net sales price that must be received. So the Listing Agent will determine a fair list price by taking the commissions to be paid, any closing costs that may be typical for a buyer to receive and closing costs of the seller into account and adding them to the net required by the bank. In some cases, if you call the Listing Agent and ask if the list price reflects closing cost assistance you may not need, you can lower the offer by that amount and the seller will still be gaining their HAFA benefits.
Going lower than what HAFA has laid out as acceptable is not something a seller, particularly when they have time left in their 120 marketing period, is likely to do. The time when a seller will see that trying the route of a traditional Short Sale, without the benefits of HAFA, is when they are nearing the end of the 120 day marketing period and, as such, facing foreclosure.
The best thing a buyer can do when looking to make an offer on a HAFA approved Short Sale is to consult with an experienced Short Sale Agent that they can have representing their side of the transaction. An experienced Short Sale Agent is not just for sellers, but buyers too. What buyer wants to waste their time in a contract that is going nowhere? Get the same level of knowledge you would insist on if you were the one selling in a Short Sale. Get yourself an experienced and successful Short Sale Agent and the difference between legitimate opportunities and time wasters will become clear.
Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker- Licensed in Virginia, GRI, SFR, Northern Virginia Short Sale Specialist. Affiliated with Long & Foster, 7526 Limestone Drive, Gainesville, VA 20155. To contact Chris Ann, call 703-402-0037 or email chrisann@LNF.com. Or you can visit her website: www.nvarealestate.net.
Header is a photo of Braemar in Bristow, VA during one of the blizzards of the 2009-2010 winter season.
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