Short sales don't have to be as difficult as they typically are. Asking good questions of the seller at the start can go a long way to helping with expectations. Most sellers don't understand that their agent can help them along this path but the agent has to be knowledgeable and ask the right questions. Make sure your Buyer's Agent asks the following questions of the Seller's Agent before you make your offer on a short sale:
1. How many liens are on the property?
2. Has the seller completed their end of the paperwork?
3. Is there Mortgage Insurance on the property?
4. Which banks are involved?
5. Is there a short sale coordinator involved?
6. Has a lien search been done to determine if there are any other types of liens on the property?
The answers to these questions will give you a better idea of how difficult the process will be and how long the process will take.
If you enter into a short sale where the homeowner has not yet completed their paperwork, it could be a long time to get the house purchased. The longer the homeowner stalls, the longer they stay in their home without paying (see the conflict here?).
If there are multiple banks, the second lien holder is usually the easier to work with as they stand to lose everything if the property goes into foreclosure. So check to see if they have agreed to a settlement yet.
Find out if the first lien holder has any kind of on-line streamlined process for tracking the progress of the short sale. Bank of America uses a system called Equator that allows all participants to accomplish their tasks online and see how the process is progressing. It helps to take some of the anxiety out of the process.
Short sales can be done in a reasonable amount of time but it takes the cooperation of all the parties including both the seller's agent and the buyer's agent. So if you are thinking about making an offer on a short sale, get all the facts before you make the offer.
There are many wonderful homes for sale in Spring Hill in Hernando County on Florida's Nature Coast that are short sales. With a little patience and time, you could become the proud owner of a wonderful property in a beautiful place to live.
