Things You Need to Know Before Offering on a Short Sale

Do you plan to buy a new home? Are you eyeingsale. A subject to sale contingency will probably not
houses that are on short sale to fit your tightbe accepted.
budget? Prior to deciding to offer on a short sale,If you think that you are ready to offer on a short
you need to carefully assess the sellers' situation.sale, then you should consult a qualified Realtor.
When a home is in short sale, it is being sold at priceWhen looking for a qualified real estate professional,
usually lower than the amount owed to the lender.they should be able to present you with a list of
The seller also does not have other means to payhomes for short sale, assist in the process of
for the borrowed money; hence, the short sale. A lotnegotiation, and communicate with the lender
of factors can be associated to this situation andappropriately.
these would include: getting laid off from work,When buying a property on short sale here are some
divorce, unexpected medical bills and the downturn inof the problems that you should be ready to face.
home values.-Buyers should be ready with possible rejection from
You need to know that short sale is not the same aslenders. The price a lender is willing to accept can
foreclosure. In the latter, the title and the rights tooften depend on the expertise of the listing agent.
the real estate have already been granted to theThe lender will require a copy of the listing history
lender. The best solution for homeowners to preventshowing that the listing agent has made every
foreclosure is to short sale their home. Although itattempt to cover the mortgage debt. They want to
sounds promising to the seller, you need to knowensure that the price has been decreased steadily
that there are also some drawbacks for the buyers.over a suitable period of time. If your offer is too
You need to take some of these into considerationlow, the lender may reject the offer outright -
before you decide to offer on a short sale. If youalthough we would hope they will counter offer.
are really in no doubt that you want to write an-The seller could at the last minute reject the short
offer, then here are some points that you need tosale. The lender might suddenly 'move the goalposts'
know.o· You need patience to wait for theon the seller. An example would be expecting the
completion of the transaction. In purchasing a homeseller to take out a loan for the deficit. In a case
that is for short sale, the agreement between yousuch as this, the seller might decided to let them
and the seller is not enough to close the deal. You stillforeclose.
have to wait for the go signal from the lender or the-Buyers will not be allowed to request for repairs.
lenders. The average time for approval for a shortSince the property is already offered at a low price
sale with one mortgage is two months. For morethan its real market value, lenders normally will not
than one mortgage to different lenders, it could takeallow any requests for repair. The property will be
three months or longer.o· You should begiven to the buyer as is. No improvements and
ready with your cash. For you to receive immediaterepairs will be done as this could cause additional
approval from the lenders, you need to prove thatexpenses to the lender.
you have enough funds to pay for the short sale.Keep in mind that short sales involve a lot of risk,
Your chances of approval from lenders will be higherand you need to take into consideration all of the
if you present a larger amount for down paymentsides involved in the short sale. This would include
and have a pre-approval letter with an expirationyou or the buyer, the seller, and the lender. All terms
date at least 3 months in the future.o· Youand conditions should be agreeable to all the involved
should write a "clean" offer. Lenders do not liketo make sure that the transaction is good.
buyers who cannot completely commit on the short