I have gotten this question a lot lately. Many realtors are not familiar with short sales. And most who are cringe at the thought of it. While a short sale is not easy to deal with, it is a fact of life in this market. Many realtors that I work with are actually being forced into this market because the listing they had has gotten behind on payments, and they have to sell regardless of price. Others have gotten contacted by former customers about a short sale, and have to do something, or risk sending the seller to another agent.
There are some things that you can do to make your life easier in this arena. First, make sure you are asking the right questions from your seller at the time of listing. There is a fine line as a realtor of how personal you get with a seller's personal finances. That being said, there is only so much you can do with limited information, and by not asking the right questions, you could be setting yourself up for failure without even knowing it. find out if they are past due on the mortgage, and if so, how urgent is it that they sell. some home owners will get offended at the idea of selling below their current mortgage balance. But, it is way more offensive to have it foreclosed on and deal with that for the next 10 years. Also, make sure that if you are selling as a short sale, the seller will not be getting equity out at closing. If they understand that early, they will be less combative at closing.
Secondly, make sure that when you get a listing, you have properly disclosed to the public that the sale is contingent upon bank approval. A buyer that makes an offer expecting to hear back in 24 hours, will very likely walk from the deal when they discover it takes weeks to get this back. Cover yourself and save time by disclosing this up front. (BTW - I am located in Florida so be sure to check your applicable state laws for proper disclosure)
You can find out more about dealing with short sales at www.PreForeclosureFSBO.com , Happy Hunting!
Comments(4)