Issaquah Undressed

Short Sales Considerations

Part 1 of a series to help you understand and decide if a short sale is for you.

Has it been hard to see your way to the right path? Should you be a short sale? Should you buy a short sale? What is the truth anyway.?

Buyers often say to me, “I want a short sale”. I used to say it’s a waste of time. Now I say, under certain situations it’s the way to go. When a seller would ask about a short sale I used to say, “it seems a waste”. Now I say, do it if it is the best option, let me help, and do it right.”

The truth was they were often a waste of time for buyers. The truth now is, they may be a good endeavor now – under certain conditions.

The market is resetting, you know that. The lenders have been overwhelmed with the short sale barrage. Interestingly, things have begun to move from chaos to well managed in some short sale situations.

I believe when I am finished with this series you will have a grasp of how to deal or not deal with it. If you can’t wait, or don’t think you should, give me a call at 206.618.3724 or email me at larrykcragun(at)yahoo.com.

First an overview:

A quick short sale for an owner takes no less than 3 months, some take 5 or 6 months. Therefore, those who have been delaying a short sale to the point of being in foreclosure in a few weeks, a short sale is most likely too late. Those who have a loan modification in process will be unsuccessful in a short sale endeavor until the modification request is closed.

Dealing with a seller offering a short sale (you as a buyer) that has not engaged a loss mitigation group to negotiate the short sale is probably a waste of your time. The lenders are overwhelmed. They are dealing in volume. Quality loss mitigation groups are effective. They know what to offer, they know the players, their volume works to a bank and therefore everyones advantage. If the home you want is not being handled by a loss mitigator, forget it. We are working with two, both arms of title companies, these I approve of.  Loss mitigating companies have developed personal relationships with the lenders. They can be counted on to be accurate, complete, professional, and genuine. Do you think your trusty real estate agent can match that? No.

These companies which we deal with are an organization: made up of real estate attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, limited practice officers, title examiners, and escrow closers. They are experienced in negotiating.

One of our preferred mitigators currently has a 95% closing ratio.

Mitigators have a fudiciary advantage over an agent. They can choose to take the first offer only as the submission to a bank. Agents must present all offers. Those that have this as a  policy make it great for a buyer. They don’t get trapped in additional lost time with a bank and mitigator trying to create an auction, holding offers for more offers.

In summary for today: we know how to scope what is most likely a waste of time for both buyers and sellers. Also in closing, it is a major credit benefit to a seller that avoids foreclosure via a short sale. Doing it right can effectuate some relief to a bad situation.

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