Short Sale Offer stressing me out!

Good luck!  I had a client that put an offer in and waited and waited, continually bumping up her offer each time they received a new offer just to have the bank foreclose months later.  Did I mention how much I hate short sales tonight?

This is par for the course.  In the past, you could call the corporate office number and eventually get to the manager handling the file, but they're so overwhelmed now that you're probably looking at 4-6 months for a response.  They usually use the first couple of offers to bring up subsequent offers and believe me, they're willing to wait for them.  Had as many as a dozen on some short sales I've done, and it still took months.

We usually have an email sent in showing the trending of comparables and we tell the loss mitigator that they've got till the end of the week to reply.  If they don't, we move on.  Since January, interest rates have been as low as 5% on a 30 year fixed, FHA and now are sitting closer to 6%.  This makes a huge difference in payment and value.

Threaten to pull the plug.  They've had enough time already!

I had a similar situation and it took the seller hiring an attorney to get the ball rolling.  Seems they could get action to happen when I couldn't.

Christina, been hearing the same in our area. It's either banks are to busy with ALL the properties they are getting back, or it's lost on someones desk.

Christina, what's most disturbing is that the Seller's Agent is not calling you back.  We all know that the Lenders are being inundated with short sale requests but the Sellers Agents lack of communication is a big red flag. It only makes you wonder what type of communication that he/she is having with the Lender. I'd call the Sellers Agents Broker.

Hi Christina, I just closed on a short sale deal on March 28.  Believe me it can be frustrating and understand your frustration.  However, don't be.  There are some things in life that we have no control over and you have to let it run its course.  It will come to pass you just have to be patient and be firm in what you say to the listing agent.

The listing agent I was working with was slow in her response time but when I would finally speak with her I would tell her what I wanted and I would not let up.  I believed in what I spoke.  It took us two months to close the deal but we finally closed.  My buyer was anxious, but each day I had to reassure her that if it is meant for her it will be.  It all happens in perfect timing.  Don't get frustrated.  Just remain positive and it shall come to pass.

Christina,

I hear horror stories of agents and short sales all the time. Here is a White Paper I wrote on short sales that may prevent problems like you have had.  Be sure to read part one and part two. Hope it helps you.

 http://activerain.com/blogsview/318295/Short-Sale-Suicide-and

 

 

Indymac not that responsive.  I can understand why it is taking so long but this is a little too long.  Keep on them, they usually approve short sales before accepting a foreclosure.  Be patient, it will probably happen for your client.

I'd say ask your client to hang tight. In fact, tell her to put the transaction out of her mind and concentrate on something else more enjoyable for a while. Eventually, I do think you will receive an answer. Listing agents probably aren't calling you back because there is nothing to report. Not that failing to return calls is an excuse, mind you. Also, if the listing agent isn't calling the bank at least once a week, the file will get delayed. The agent needs to check the status and make certain that the lender's file is complete. If it's incomplete, it will fall into the neglected pile. I found that I was lacking the necessary time to make all those phone calls every week, so I hired another agent to do it for me, and her results have been outstanding.

I have one buyer who is waiting for a response on the short sale. There were multiple offers on it, too. Finally, I persuaded the listing agent to take all the offers to the seller and let the seller choose the best offer. Which was my buyer's offer. We then submitted that offer to the bank. We've been waiting for a reply for three months now. But my buyer is willing to wait. They don't need to sell their home to buy because their home is paid for, and it's a good enough deal, and the exact home that she wants, so she waits. I've explained to her that if the bank does not take her offer, it will go to foreclosure and eventually come back on the market as an REO. So, either way, she has an opportunity to buy that home. That's good enough for her.

If that's not good enough for your buyer, and I can understand why it might not be, then maybe she should give the bank a deadline for acceptance and then move on.