short sales questions

Is your short sale agent hurting you with pricing?

You have tried the loan modification process and have had very little luck so now you have decided that your best option is a short sale. While a short sale may not be the best option for everyone, if you are going to do it, do it right.

A short sale in Arizona is different than a short sale in many other states. Arizona is an anti-deficiency state so as long as the bank does not sneak it into the final contract, they will not be coming after you for the loss. That being said, an Arizona short sale is not about getting top dollar for your house, it is about getting a fair market offer and getting it sold.

That brings me to last week when I was calling on some listings for a buyer I am working with I came across one in Gilbert that appeared to me at first look to be overpriced. The home was listed for $250,000 as a short sale and had just recently been reduced from $260,000. At $250K I thought this Gilbert short sale was overpriced so decided to check on a few comps and wouldn’t you know, according to the recently sold comparables the value I thought the house was worth was close to $230,000.

This house had been on the market for over 130 days and had no offers. This Gilbert short sale was originally on the market for $290,000 and the house had over 40 business cards on the counter. Knowing not every agent leaves a card you can be assured there were many more showings of the home than that, yet, no offers. Meanwhile the home sits vacant, moving closer and closer to a date with foreclosure.

If you have a short sales agent working with you and you are not getting any offers, you need to ask your agent why. If you are a short sales agent and you know the price of your listing is $50,000 over market value you need to do a better job explaining to your sellers how the price of the home is hurting them, as long as it is within a reasonable range of market value. A short sale is about getting the seller out from a financial mess and avoiding a foreclosure on their credit, not about getting absolute top dollar for the house.

As always when considering a short sale talk to you accountant about tax ramifications.

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/digg_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/reddit_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/stumbleupon_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/delicious_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/furl_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/newsvine_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/technorati_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/google_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/facebook_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/yahoobuzz_32.png

http://deansellsaz.com/wp-content/plugins/sociofluid/images/twitter_32.png

What questions should I ask when buying a short sale or interview a short sale selling agent?

The main reason I have seen that only 23% of short sales fall through before closing is because buyers get fed up with how long it is taking and walk away. While it is no guarantee, there are questions you can ask before buying a short sale that will tell you how prepared the seller is. If you are looking to do a short sale and you are interviewing sellers agents you should ask the agent how they would answer these questions too.

1) How many liens are on the property? This is the first question your buyers agent should ask the selling agent. If there are only one or two liens on the home, the short sale is much more likely to go through than if there are three or more. If there are more than two, the seller is likely to have to come up with some cash out of pocket to satisfy those debts.

2) What is your plan to satisfy those liens? Does the selling agent and the seller have a plan on how to satisfy the debts if there is more than one lien on the property? The amount of concessions the first lien is willing to make, and the amount of money the second may be willing to accept don’t always match.

3) What is that status of the short sale? Has the selling agent even started a packet, has the hardship letter be written? Financial gathered? Has communications started with the primary lender? Has a short sale packet been requested from lender if available?

If your buyers agent asks these three questions before you put in an offer on a short sale, the selling agent has quality answers that address these issues and it is a home you are willing to make a commitment on your chances of getting a completed deal go way up.

So what type of commitment should you be making and what type of commitment should the seller be making to you? More on that later this week.

If you have other questions you think should be asked that may be as important as these then let me know.

Is your short sale agent hurting you with pricing?

What questions should I ask when buying a short sale or interview a short sale selling agent?

Receive Email Updates

Contact Info

Let’s Connect