“Most short sale offers fall through due to the mortgage holder not accepting the price offered. The lenders in general take way too long to respond to offers, leaving the potential buyers on the hook for extended periods of time. Consumers think short sales are some kind of great deal. In many cases the property is being sold as a short sale because the amount owed exceeds fair market value.”
-George W. Caldwell, Prudential Network Realty
“Have patience. The wheel often moves slowly due to many hands having to attend to the paperwork and be reasonable with your offers. Unreasonable offers delay the process for others.”
-Carolyn A. McMoran, National City Mortgage, a division of National City Bank
“I believe we need to have standards in place for the entire short sale process. Currently, agents are unsure about what to do with the listings, where to set the price, document the Multiple Listing Service and how to handle contracts. I hope to work with Florida Association of Realtors on their committee for setting standards on short sales. If we can get some standards in place for FAR we should be able to transfer those to NEFAR. I have been doing short sales for a number of years and have a system in place to get them done. Most agents are not receiving enough information on the subject to help them negotiate the entire process. I hope to work with NEFAR and develop a Level II training for agents who actually want to take on the short sales process. Currently, most of the local classes are providing basic information to agents about the overall process. One of the best things I have learned lately about short sales is that if a borrower has an FHA or VA loan, both of which are under HUD guidelines, the borrowers have to remain in the property in order for the property to be considered for a short sale. If the homeowners move out of the property, the lender can deny the short sale. By HUD regulations, the homeowners must reside in the property. Some lenders may allow a waiver of this requirement but they may be breaking government regulations to get the short sale completed.”
-Ted Mello, Exit 1 Stop Realty
“The best information I have recently heard is that short sales are much more helpful to all parties’ concerned verses foreclosures. I prefer to be in the real estate business to help if I can.”
-Lydia Keohane, Team Village Realty
“Make sure the seller gives you all the lender-required information first before you list the property. This will save you a lot of time.”
-Ray Rivera, Exit First Coast Realty
“There is very little reliable and consistent information on short sales because all banks and agents work them differently.”
-Regina Sooey, Watson Realty Corp.
“The best advice I have learned about short sales is to give it a long time to close - at least 90 days, if not longer. Don’t expect to close one in 30 days or less. The bank is not in any hurry to take a big loss. Set realistic closing dates on contracts.”
-Allen Lewis, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
“Best information? I’m hard-pressed to answer that one since I’ve been involved in two short sale situations, and that’s plenty for me, thank you. The term ‘short sale’ is a misnomer. It should really be called ‘long sale’ since lenders take a long, long time to respond to such offers, if at all. The process is extremely frustrating for all parties except the lenders who don’t answer, it seems. In my opinion, short sales are not the way to go for people who have sold their property and need to move into their next home within a reasonable time frame. I share with my buyers the possible pitfalls of these situations and, as a result, they usually decide to avoid the short sale properties. With so much non-short sale inventory out there, there’s really no need to include them. Of course, I applaud those Realtors and buyers who have the stamina and the time to handle this type of transaction.”
-Elke McMenemy, St Augustine Real Estate, Inc.
“I have learned that short sales are not always a good deal for a buyer.”
-Dan Daniel, Prudential Network Realty
“Make sure that the loan number is on every document no matter what it is. I used a label machine and clearly stick labels on everything I sent to the bank. I also learned that there is quite a lengthy process for the seller to go through in order to get the short sale approved by the lending institution, so patience is a must. Itemize the contents of the package being sent to the bank with a cover sheet outlining what documents are included in the package so there is no confusion for the lender. You must have everything very organized and clearly marked for the bank or it could delay the process.”
-Lori Stephens, Watson Realty Corp.
“I’ve learned that they’re helping to sell otherwise distressed properties.”
-Ben Walker, Country Club Real Estate
“Up until the last eight months, we had not had to deal with short sale issues. It now has become a routine topic for sellers of unsold listings on the verge of foreclosure. We had several agents who attended seminars and attempted to handle these types of transactions. And, honestly, they had some successes. The problem was the amount of time and effort that had to be expended for getting these done. At the suggestion of a recently hired agent, I contacted a specialist team, Heritage Properties of North Florida, who deal exclusively with short sales. Bob Edge and Scott Skjordahl gave a presentation to our office. The information was universally challenging but rewarding. Since their presentation, many of my agents have become more comfortable discussing that possibility with our customers, and several have referred their customers to our presenters. They are assigned the property for listing and then re-list with us. In turn, they deal with the loss mitigators and the financial institutions and reach the settlement pricing. They also expedite the decision-making process because of their contacts and reputation. So I guess the best information I have heard and learned about short sales is simply: put them in the hands of experts. It frees up your time and energy to work on other transactions, and provides the best chance for successful sales and commissions for our agents.”
-Paul Andry, Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty
“You must have patience!”
-Michael Shurr, Watson Realty Corp.
“Having successfully closed only one short sale, the best information or advice I can give is to tell all parties involved to practice patience! It is very important that the consumers understand that yes, these may be priced well but you still have to get to the closing table. If you have a buyer that needs or must be in a home quickly, a short sale is just not for them! Zig Ziglar said, ‘I’m not going to ease up, let up, shut up or give up until I’m taken up. As a matter of fact, I’m just getting warmed up.’”
-Judy K. Hicks, Re/Max Coastal Real Estate
“The best information is to make sure your buyer fully understands the short sale process and the time involved in order to make the sale happen. All real estate is a matter of timing and timing is of essence but the short sale is a different beast. We live in a time of instant gratification and the short sale will test the best.”
-Holly McMurry, The Legends of Real Estate
“That short sale refers to ‘short’ on money, not time! I just closed one last week that has taken five months to pull together from very beginning to close.”
-Mary Davis, Watson Realty Corp.
“We are seeing a willingness of lenders to work with homeowners. Banks are getting more organized. There is more willingness to negotiate and lower appraisals. Lenders are getting more specific on buyer strength. They want more money down and/or proof of funds.”
-Mary Ann Bongiorno, Watson Realty Corp.
“We recently had an excellent session via our Re/Max satellite network training system on short sales. While it had a tremendous amount of valuable material, one key point that I took away was that as soon as you know you are dealing with a short sale, you must identify the loss mitigation person and/or the person who can actually make the decision regarding what the lender will accept as a sales price and commission. You must probe and probe with questions (noting the name and contact info for each person with whom you speak) until you know who the decision maker is along with their phone number(s) and e-mail addresses.”
-Jeanne Moellendick, Re/Max Specialists
“Despite their name, short sales are not quick or efficient. It’s best to confirm all parties are fully committed to the process and that the time frame is fluid so expectations are correctly managed from the beginning.”
-Carol Zingone, Vanguard Realty/GMAC