There is a lot of confusion out there about short sales in our current market - and I'm sure many other markets as well.
To clear things up some, I'm going to share a personal experience. In the past week, I've had 3 of our short sale listings close. All three of these short sales were single family homes in Cape Coral, Florida.
Yes, they all took just over 100 dom (days on market) start to finish but that is not bad considering how long a short sale can take. Many 'normal' sales take longer than that.
Two of the listings actually would have closed much sooner, but one previous cash buyer, ended up not having cash when it came down to closing day - that wasted some time. And another listing was a similar situation, previous cash buyer *disappeared* - yep their agent couldn't find them anywhere. Strange.
But even with those issues we were still able to close 3 of these listings in the past week. The sellers are relieved & can move on with their lives. The buyers were able to purchase homes at great prices. 1 cash buyer & 2 with financing, one buyer even got closing cost assistance from the seller's lender - not a bad deal.
The waiting game wasn't the most fun but our office has an excellent system in place for short sales that works quite well if I do say so myself.
The biggest lesson I could teach anyone is communication. And that goes for all parties involved. Most agents, buyers, and banks are easier to work with when you communicate with them. Everyone wants to know what is going on.
The few offers I've helped buyers put in on other people's listings have not been easy. Agents don't always return calls or seem to know where they may be in the process.
Agents: The banks are easier to work with now as well. If you submit a complete package & keep on top of things, you too can close short sales.
Buyers: Don't be fooled by what others are saying & if your real estate agent is refusing to show you short sales, please ASK THEM WHY OR FIND AN AGENT WHO WILL SHOW YOU SHORT SALES.
Now, I do hope that your agent understands the process and can intelligently speak with the listing agent to determine if the transaction is in fact being handled properly. But if they know at least SOMETHING about short sales they should know what questions to ask. And if they don't know anything about them or tell you they are a bad deal, you may want to move on. If you have a little extra time to wait to purchase a house, deals can be found by buying a short sale.
If you are looking to buy or sell a short sale our office is here to work for you.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours in Success,
Susan Milner, Real Estate Broker
Florida Future Realty, Inc.
(239) 218-2229
Yours in Success,
Susan Milner
Florida Future Realty, Inc
(239) 542-8521
Susan@SusanMilner.com
copyright 2008-2010 Susan Milner of Florida Future Realty Inc
