Communication Is Key In Short Sales

In the ever growing market of short sales one variable that seems to elude Realtors is communication. In order for the deal to eventually close communication is vital for both the seller and the buyer. Why? The timeline in a short sale can be from an average of 45 days to months.

I always beleive in communicating once a week with buyer's agents to keep them abreast on the process with the short sale. In this market especially where we are in a buyer's market and the choices they have to chose from being so great communicating on a regular basis is vital to keep a deal from falling apart.

Without proper communication the window of doubt opens even more with a buyer as to whether the bank will accept their offer on the short sale.If you place yourself in the buyer's position you want to know what is happening and how the paperwork is moving along. For some buyers, it is a matter of time. For others it is doubt of whether the bank will accept the short sale. But in most cases it si the unknown that drives buyers away.

This topic came to light for me recently when a prospective seller e-mailed me about listing their home. They told me it was a short sale and where the home was located. Asked if I worked that area and if I could help them out with getting their home sold before it went to foreclosure. I responded within an hour of receivng the e-mail from them. Upon meeting with them they disclosed to me that they had sent this out to five different agents from different companies and that during the time we met I was one of only 2 agents to repsond back to them. (for the record we set up the meeting three days later). The other agent took 2 days to respond to them. They wanted me to list the house for them. When I asked what was the factor that made them chose me over someone else they told me it was my response time. They had the home on the market with another agent for over seven months with a couple of offers on the house. Both buyers walked away from the transaction prior to an agreement with the bank. Somehow, the found out it was becuase they never heard form the lsiting agent as to the status of the short sale offer with the bank. One agent went as far as to tell them they would repeatedly e-mail the agent to get no response or working on it response days later. They felt the agent was not doing what was needed to help them get the house sold to avoid foreclosure.

Unfortuantely, dealing with short sales has become more the norm than the exception today in the Real Estate market. Becuase of that I actually sympathized with them and understood their plight. They wanted an agent they felt would communicate with them and the buyer's agent on a regular basis to ensure that when a reasonable offer was presented that the agent would do everything possible to ensure it stayed together and closed. They felt one of the two offers would have closed had the agent communicated with the buyer's agent on a more regular basis.

If you are thinking of selling your home on a short sale or buying a home on a short sale; consider the communciation process. It could make the difference between your home being sold and foreclosed. On the buyer's end it can be the difference between getting the home you want or settling. It is hard enough knowing you may have to wait 45 days or longer to get a repsonse from the bank. Not having your agent communicate on a regular basis justs opens that door a little wider for them to walk out of.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com

Short Sales, Loan Modifications and Foreclosures

The other day I was reading an article in the Charlotte Observer that talked about the rise in foreclosures in Mecklenburg County(primarily Charlotte). At the current pace we will eclipse the record number of foreclosures set back in 2008 by a substantial amount. Why with the government programs and banks considering short sales are the numbers so high?

Well first, by definition a short sale is when the bank agrees to accept less than what is owed on the home due to a hardship that makes it difficult or impossible for you to make the current mortgage payments.

Some people I know who have lost their home to foreclosure told me they did not think there was enough time to process the short sale paperwork. They said "I have to do all this work and they are still going to take my home anyway". Well, maybe. However; the bank knowing that you are going to lose the home would rather work with you to sell it; than incur the additional costs involved in foreclosing on the home. Besides that the process takes significantly longer; there is added expenses that comes with the foreclosure process. A lot of times when you receive an offer on your home; the bank will put a hold on the foreclosure proceedings so as to work with the potential buyer to make the transaction.

Loan modifcation was in theory a great idea to keep people in their homes. However; as the economy has been slow to recover it has not worked out the way the governemnt had planned. Yes, there are a lot of people who received modifcations on their loans temporarily on a trial basis. But when the trial was up they were in no better financial shape than before. Thus they are either losing their home to foreclosure or short sale. But, it can buy you time to find a better paying job (or a job if you are unemployed) and keep you in your home.

Foreclosure is the most expensive option out there to not only the homeowner; but the bank as well. The added cost of the proceedings and paperwork adds up quickly. Then there is the maintenance of the home while they wait to have it sold... these are all options the bank would like to avoid. Yet, I hear many people say "the bank would rather have me foreclose on my home than help me sell it or work out a modification on the loan".

I have done a lot of short sale business and foreclosure sales in the past year. Talking wth the different banks I have dealt with in general terms they would rather exhaust every and all options before they are forced to foreclose on a home. For them the loss is greater than they want to do. If they can get a loan modified or sold through short sale it saves them thousands of dollars per home. It adds up quickly.

Dave dicecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com