Short Sales…. Long time
For potential buyers short sales can mean either getting a great deal or going through a very frustrating ordeal. by first impression a short sale implies a getting good deal on a home, kind of like a house as being on sale “houses 30% off! “. However, you should know what’s involved with buying a short sale before making an offer.
A short sale is when the lender agrees to take less than the amount owed in order to get the property sold as opposed to taking it through foreclosure. Before the lender agrees to anything, there’s a whole process that the seller needs to go through and get approval before the bank even agrees to entertain any kind of offer. This process involves the seller getting together an entire package of docs to their lender
Short Sale Docs Required from the Seller
1-Hardship lettter
2-Financial statement or profit and loss [if self employed]
3-Last 2 years tax returns
4-Recent Paystubs
5-Bank statements
6- Listing agreement
7- Purchase and Sales agreement
As you can see from the list above the seller has their homework cut out for them and some sellers aren’t the most organized people which means, just getting this list of docs together could take weeks. Once the package is complete, it is then submitted to the short sale lender. If you think that’s it… you’re wrong, this is just the beginning. The lender will usually find a few things wrong with the package no matter how well it was put together, something will need to be in a different format, typo o the HUD, missing addendum, etc. it’s always something.
The next thing that will happen is the lender will order a BPO [brokers price opinion]. This is usually a local agent that is hired by the lender to give their opinion of what the property is really worth. Whatever this amount comes in at will be the negotiating point. That means that if your offer is much lower than the BPO amount, the bank will counter your offer until you come to an agreement. Unfortunately, some agents don’t like the extra work involved in going back and forth with the lender to get the best deal possible, so they just stick with the first amount that the lender countered at.
Hopefully, the agent handling the listing is an Orlando short sale specialist, if not it could be a very frustrating experience for both the buyer and the seller.
Buyers that need to buy fast
If you’re a buyer that needs to get into a house quickly for whatever reason, then you probably want to steer clear of short sales. Just because you’ve submitted a fair offer on a property, it doesn’t mean that you’ll get it. Not only that, you may be waiting for a month or 2 before even getting a response on whether your offer was approved or not. My suggestion is to find an Orlando realtor that specializes in the area that you want to live in and tell them what your time frame is. If you can’t find a good deal right away, maybe you should rent for six months. This will allow you more time to find the great deal you’ve been looking for.
Buyers that are in no hurry to buy
If you have all the time in the world to find a great deal on Orlando real estate, then short sales are definitely worth looking into. Find a realtor that is an Orlando short sale specialist in the area that you’re interested in living in. Meet with the realtor and let them know what kind of property you’re interested in buying and where. The agent should provide you with a list of short sale and REO properties in the area that meet your criteria. After you get your list, tell your agent immediately which ones you would like to see and go see them A.S.A.P. Orlando real estate is hot right now and good deals don’t last for very long.
