Buying a Short Sale

Many times a buyer can obtain a great deal on a short sale.  There are pro’s and cons to buying a short sale, as there is to everything in life.

If the listing agent has been working with the sellers and the mortgage company chances are they already have an approval to participate from the sellers lender, or they are close.  Even with an approval to participate, which is a notice from the sellers lender, agreeing to accept less than what is owed on the property, there is sometimes a wait while the lender reviews and processes the offer.  Patience is most certainly required when working with short sales. 

If as a buyer you have a certain time frame to be out of your current home, a short sale may not be a viable option for you.  However if you do not have time constraints, a short sale may be a perfect buy for you.

Most times short sales are sold as is.  The seller typically does not have the money for repairs, assisting with buyers closing costs etc.  When I work with a buyer looking at short sales, I advise they speak with their lender about obtaining a 203K Rehab loan.  This type of loan will allow for certain repair costs to be included in the loan. 

Once approval has been received from the short sale lender to work with the offer the buyer has submitted, it is imperative to move quickly.  Once the short sale lender gives their stamp of approval, they allow 30 days from the day they approve to the day the property closes.  Some times the short sale lender will approve an extension, but not normally more than 15 days, allowing a maximum total of 45 days to close the transaction.

You will want to make sure your lender is going to be able to process the transaction in the time frame allotted by the short sale lender.  And this is a question you should find the answer to prior to submitting an offer.  If they can’t give you an answer, shop around for lenders, but do it before you submit the offer. 

Also, make sure the Realtor you use is a full time Realtor.  Especially in a short sale transaction.  While the banks may take forever and a day to respond to an offer, they only give a limited amount of time when they need something from the buyer, buyers agent, seller or seller’s agent.  You want someone who is able to get the job done, in the time frame given, so that you don’t end up losing the deal of the century on the house of your dreams!

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This Is My Job- This Is What I Do Fulltime…

I am a Realtor, and take pride in the fact that I help people find their dream home, or sell a home to close a chapter in their life.

It is important to me to do everything in my power to make sure we successfully get to closing.  This is why I am a Fulltime Realtor.  There are going to be times that it is necessary that a Realtor stop what they are doing mid stream to address an issue with an upcoming closing, because it is time sensitive.  Many times if a Realtor is working a Fulltime job and selling real estate part-time, these things can fall through the cracks and ultimately lead to a transaction falling apart. 

Buying or Selling a home is a large transaction, and to make sure that you are protected as a buyer or seller it is important that you have a full time agent who is able to address anything that may come up in a timely manner as opposed to an agent who can only take care of the issue once they finish their work day at their full time job.  If the Realtor isn’t able to take or make calls, or respond to emails due to other obligations, a buyer or seller could potentially lose out on a transaction that was a sure thing.

If you have questions or are looking for a realtor, feel free to contact me at 317-807-1568 or dawnwhalen@remax.net

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