Another Bristow, VA Short Sale---SOLD!
On September 12th (2014) I had the pleasure of listing this end unit townhouse in Bristow, VA. Because it had been well maintained, when the Seller and I went over comparable sales in the neighborhood I advised the Seller that he needed to price as if he were a regular sale. The first thing a bank being asked to approve a short payoff of a mortgage does is a BPO. That BPO doesn't compare the home to just other Short Sales in the market, but other properties and compares them based on condition. So we came to a list price of $288,000.
Within a matter of days we had an offer for $250,000. What buyers don't seem to understand is that there is more to a Short Sale than whether or not the bank will accept it. The sellers are issued 1099's for the mortgage debt not forgiven. And until the Mortgage Debt Relief Act is extended, this means that money is taxable income to principal residence owners. In the case of investor owners, there is no instant tax protection from this taxable income. So when faced with low offers, the Seller countered. We lost a buyer or two, but on September 28th, just 13 days after being on the market, this Kingbrooke townhouse was under contract with a Buyer who understood and made a good offer.
During Short Sale negotiations, the banks upped the agreed sales price, which had been $285,000 in the contract to the full list price of $288,000. They also took the 3% closing cost help requested by the Buyer and countered to a little less that 1% of the sales price. The Buyer was able to make this change and proceed. A little over one month from submitting for Short Sale Approval with two mortgages, the first trust approved the sale. With that in hand, we were able to get second trust approval.
On November 28th, the sale was approved and went quickly through inspections on the buyer side. It settled on December 12th for $288,000. The Buyer received $2,672.50 in closing cost help. This sales price, according to the most recent Kingsbrooke Townhouse Report, is higher than the average sales price by $6,000.
For sellers, the takeaway is that Short Sales don't need to be a painful process that takes six months or longer. For buyers, don't expect to get every penny of closing costs paid or super low prices, thinking the banks just want to get rid of the home. The banks want every penny the market will bear, just like a seller with equity in their home.
Want to get started on listing your home for Short Sale? Give me a call.
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