Got PATIENCE? Are you a good candidate to purchase a short sale?

One of the most challenging things for me right now is managing emotions of buyers who are waiting for response to their short sale offer.

I have had wonderful successes for my buyers, and am a hands on short sale negotiator for my seller clients.  I understand the process, which has been aptly defined as CRAZY MAKING by one client.  I am an experienced short sale Realtor, trained, certified.  Forewarning and explaining what to expect is something I do right up front.  

However, I find that for all my attempts to prepare buyers for the unavoidable delays and frustration that have become the standard, I often find myself in yet another situation with distraught buyers in a bad place emotionally.

What is so hard for people to understand is the why. 

Why isn't there something that reasonable people can do to expedite the process?  Why doesn't the bank want to get this off their books?  Why would the bank want to lose the home to foreclosure and net much less down the road?  Why doesn't the negotiator respond to your repeated contact attempts?  Why?  Why?  Why?

Reasonable people want and deserve reasonable explanations. 
Therein lies the problem, there is NO REASONABLE ANSWER! 

PLEASE, before you decide to proceed with an offer on a property offered as a short sale, understand that it may (not always, but it may) likely take MONTHS of patience.  Consult with an agent who has training and experience.  The experience and skill that I have from achieving a 100% success rate with my short sale listings gives my short sale buyers a big advantage as we work through their process.  Talk it through with your loved ones.  Make sure that you and your circumstances make you a good candidate. 

Short sales are definitely NOT a good option for everyone.

In the end, every one of my short sale buyers who have hung in there have ended up with the home of their dreams at a purchase price far under appraised value.  From entry level buyers on a little home that appraised for $11,000 more than they paid, to a home on the golf course that appraised for nearly $50,000 over purchase price. 

All of my buyers would say that in the end, IT WAS WORTH IT.  But for those mired down in the emotional trauma of the ridiculousness of the process, it is hard to see light at the end of the tunnel