- Find a Real Estate Professional
- Realtors®
- Mortgage Lenders
- Home Improvement Pros
- Other Real Estate Services
- Review an Agent, Lender or Pro
- Marketing on Zillow
- Real Estate Agent Advertising
- Join the Professional Directory
- Popular
- Real Estate Market Reports
- More
Answers (7)
- Brad Officer, "Jax Realtor"
- Contributions:45
- Terry Osburn, "PawsitiveRealEstate"
- Contributions:106
Just make sure your agent has performed their due diligence on any offers you make. Typically if a listing agent has done their duty they will usually list the home within 10-20% of recent comparable sales to allow for the 3-6 month time it takes to receive a short sale approval and to allow for any depreciating market conditions.
REMEMBER= Just as Buyers Lender will require appraisal so will the sellers lender to evaluate whether or not the offer presented is within the realm of approval. Sometimes either party will use appraisers out of the area and the appraisals can go either way. We have on several occasions protested appraisals and had them redone to where our clients were able to move forward. Unfortunately it adds more time to the process.
The banks philosophy on short sales is they are doing favors. Most believe they have a greater write off with foreclosure. Having stated that many are streamlining the process to move these homes faster. B of A is not one of them at this time that I am aware of . They are hard nosed and they have refused for the most part to remove language in the short sale approval letters that leave sellers at risk thereby forcing seller into foreclosure.
So this brings us to another step-IF you are a buyer make sure your agent has specifically asked the listing agent if the seller has met with legal counsel in re: to the verbiage in the short sale letter and will they proceed or not if approved.....If the listing agent dances around it then I would move on.
.
REMEMBER= Just as Buyers Lender will require appraisal so will the sellers lender to evaluate whether or not the offer presented is within the realm of approval. Sometimes either party will use appraisers out of the area and the appraisals can go either way. We have on several occasions protested appraisals and had them redone to where our clients were able to move forward. Unfortunately it adds more time to the process.
The banks philosophy on short sales is they are doing favors. Most believe they have a greater write off with foreclosure. Having stated that many are streamlining the process to move these homes faster. B of A is not one of them at this time that I am aware of . They are hard nosed and they have refused for the most part to remove language in the short sale approval letters that leave sellers at risk thereby forcing seller into foreclosure.
So this brings us to another step-IF you are a buyer make sure your agent has specifically asked the listing agent if the seller has met with legal counsel in re: to the verbiage in the short sale letter and will they proceed or not if approved.....If the listing agent dances around it then I would move on.
.
- Mark LeMenager
- Contributions:1716
Hi Zoe,
Unless you really really love the place and absolutely must have it, my advice is to walk away when dealing with this lender on short sales. Let's face facts here, this lender was the number one culprit in creating the mess we have now. Why would anyone think they would be any good at cleaning up their mess. What they suddenly had an epithany? Be real. The word Fred used to describe banks and short sales is right on the money.
The number one factor in successful short sales is the skill and experience of the listing agent. That's who you want your agent to check out. Remember, only about 25% of short sales actually close. A few get solved, but most end up as bank owned.
If this is for investment don't waste your time, focus on bank owned. if you want to live in this house, then make sure the listing agent is up to the job.
Good luck,
Mark LeMenager
Unless you really really love the place and absolutely must have it, my advice is to walk away when dealing with this lender on short sales. Let's face facts here, this lender was the number one culprit in creating the mess we have now. Why would anyone think they would be any good at cleaning up their mess. What they suddenly had an epithany? Be real. The word Fred used to describe banks and short sales is right on the money.
The number one factor in successful short sales is the skill and experience of the listing agent. That's who you want your agent to check out. Remember, only about 25% of short sales actually close. A few get solved, but most end up as bank owned.
If this is for investment don't waste your time, focus on bank owned. if you want to live in this house, then make sure the listing agent is up to the job.
Good luck,
Mark LeMenager
- Beth Grotelueschen, "bethghomes"
- Contributions:765
Whatever you end up offering, be sure to know that the typical time frame for BofA to accept a short sale is 5-6 months. Then when & if they do accept the short sale & your offer, they have been typically retaining the right to come after the seller in the future for the deficit. This means that a lot of sellers are choosing to let the property foreclose where the bank doesn't have the right to come after them for the debt. You'll not be totally out of luck as far as getting the property goes b/c after they foreclose on the property it could be another substantial time frame before either someone buys it at auction that will turn around & sell it to you or maybe they won't? Or BofA can take the property back if it doesn't sell at auction & sell it after they go through a month or 2 preparing the home for sale. So, if time is no issue, then go ahead & wait on it.
- Jeff Konstant, "jkonstant"
- Contributions:1970
Yes you can. A few things you should know. We contracted to buy one in and it took nearly 5 months to receive bank approval. We offered more than asking price. The approval we recieved gave us 10 days to buy it or no deal. Be sure your lender can do the loan from application to close very quickly.
Next, your offer should include language that permits you to walk for any reason without loss prior to receiving written approval from the seller's lender. Your escrow/good faith deposit should only be deposited upon receipt of the seller's lender written apprval of the short sale. Do not give anybody a dime up front or you may have a fight getting it back.
Next, your offer should include language that permits you to walk for any reason without loss prior to receiving written approval from the seller's lender. Your escrow/good faith deposit should only be deposited upon receipt of the seller's lender written apprval of the short sale. Do not give anybody a dime up front or you may have a fight getting it back.
- Samantha Mitchell, "SamanthaRealty"
- Contributions:218
The answer is YES you can offer anything you like on a short sale. The question here is what will the bank accept? Every agent dealing with short sales right now will have a story for you. I recently went through 5 months of representing a buyer on a short sale with BofA. We were given verbal approval and only recently did the seller receive a notice that the offer was rejected without a counter and her house is now set for foreclosure.
Nothing makes sense when dealing with some banks and the loss mitigation department. We did make some headway when the seller decided to take matters on herself and called a supervisor but it took her an entire day to get someone to speak with her about the situation. It is still not resolved.
You need to have representation first and foremost. Also make sure your agent talks with the listing agent to find out if the short sale has been approved with the bank. Who determined the asking price? Be prepared to wait and be prepared that the bank may counter your offer or reject it outright.
Good luck!
- FredFarg
- Contributions:9
Yes.
If you are not in a hurry.
I've heard plenty of negative Short Sale experiences, and I have one. I made a CASH offer on a SS house, mid-December 2008, at the price quoted by the listing agent as "pre-approved SS price". After 4 months and several extensions (2 weeks to 1 month at a time) I cancelled the offer when I bought another house at auction. (so much for "pre-approved) I recently saw here on Zillow that the house sold in July 2009 for $1k less than my bid. The stupid bank cost themselves $1k, but much more importantly 7 months!
(9349 Raleigh Ct, Westminster, CO -- look it up!)
If you are not in a hurry.
I've heard plenty of negative Short Sale experiences, and I have one. I made a CASH offer on a SS house, mid-December 2008, at the price quoted by the listing agent as "pre-approved SS price". After 4 months and several extensions (2 weeks to 1 month at a time) I cancelled the offer when I bought another house at auction. (so much for "pre-approved) I recently saw here on Zillow that the house sold in July 2009 for $1k less than my bid. The stupid bank cost themselves $1k, but much more importantly 7 months!
(9349 Raleigh Ct, Westminster, CO -- look it up!)
Can I offer less than the asking price for a short sale?
Stating a discriminatory preference in an advertisement for housing is illegal. If you think this content is discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate and feel it should be removed from Zillow, please let us know by completing the information above.
We will review this content. Thanks for helping make the site more useful to everyone. To learn more, read Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy.