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Short Sales Are Fake Listings

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Lockwood Real Estate

I've been writing a lot about short sales in the past week or so, because I really do feel that we do a buyer a disservice if we don't point out that short sales are neither short nor sales.

Lately I've gotten even more curmudgeonly about it and have taken to calling them fake listings, following Frank LLosa's lead.  For more on that point of view, see my three part article series, Are Short Sales Fake Listings?

I'm also going to have another article coming out on the overall Sacramento numbers and how they continue to make the point.  These listings are discounted some 24% from non-distressed listings, yet the non-distressed homes out-close them by more than two to one!

Gimme them old time REOs, they're good enough for me.

Robert Machado
HomePointe Property Management, CRMC - Sacramento, CA
CPM MPM - Property Manager and Property Management

With REO's at least you are dealing with the bottom line in a straightforward fashion. Short sales seem to be a pipe dream. 

May 16, 2008 05:23 PM
Joe Virnig
RE/MAX Gold Coast REALTORS, Ventura County, California - Ventura, CA
No Ordinary Joe

Short sales are poisoning the market.  They draw buyers in like the sirens drew in sailors with their sweet songs only to be eaten.

May 16, 2008 05:54 PM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

You're right John, I was trying for 5 hours last night to fax a listing over to a loss mitigation dept at a a bank. Finally at 10:30 the fax went through, it was busy. Let's only hope on Monday there was paper in the machine.

May 17, 2008 12:18 AM
Laurie Mindnich
Centennial, CO

I'd been feeling terrible about a failed short sale last summer; just dumb enough to engage in it, and actually (when the bank said that they'd accept the offer) dumb enough to believe it! I'm with you- waiting for the (usually unsuccessful) foreclosure sale and seeing the bank get "real" is worth the wait- until that happens, lots a wheel spinning.

May 17, 2008 12:42 AM
John Lockwood
Lockwood Real Estate - Sacramento, CA

Hi all,

Wow, struck a cord with this one.  I guess we all love "transactions" where nothing gets done and there's no paycheck!

Of course, if we called them what they really are, "Long Screwups", no one would be interested, and then where would we be?

Profitable?  :)

May 17, 2008 04:34 AM