Zillow Advice: Buying Foreclosures - Can a house listed as a "short sale" and having an offer "contingent" still have more offers made?

In all due respect, the true ...

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:52:00 GMT

In all due respect, the true answer is it depends how the contract is written. Every situation is different. As a seller you want as many offers as possible in case something happens to the buyer in first position. As a buyer you want to be the only offer.

You need to specify in your contract if other offers are allowed and if so, how they will be handled.

Your agent needs to be extremely well educated in short sales and the effects on the homeowner.

Yes...ALL listings in a contingent ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:24:00 GMT

Yes...ALL listings in a contingent status may accept back up offers.

SHOW status will continue ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:53:00 GMT

SHOW status will continue to accept 'back-up' offers. Back-up offers are in case the current contract falls through.

Lisa:Any listing agent who ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:40:00 GMT

Lisa:

Any listing agent who advises their client to accept an offer like you suggest is practicing financial advise and are not considering that often sellers will bring money to the table at closing. A better offer that a lender accepts could make a big difference to the seller.

The important thing for a ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:03:00 GMT

The important thing for a buyer - is to make sure that they request that they are the only contract that the bank reviews. If the seller wants to take back-up offers - that is fine but you don't want the bank to review more than yours. Any seller can accept back-ups. As a buyer you have to make sure you meet all of your requirements in a timely fashion too.

Hello Meemam,Unfortunately ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:55:00 GMT

Hello Meemam,

Unfortunately for the buyer in a short sale situation, the contract is subject to the lender approval. The bank is in the driver seat, and will ultimately take the "highest and best" offer made on a property. Even after a "contingent" contract is in place, the bank will continue to accept offers, and will consider all of them to find the highest and best to fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the stockholders of the bank. They are losing money in this transaction, and will make every attempt to lose as little as possible--a short sale only occurs when the seller falls behind in payments and the property is worth less than the amount of the mortgage owed, so the bank will ultimately lose money on the deal.

Yes. In our area the MLS ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:24:00 GMT

Yes. In our area the MLS rules require it to be marked "contingent" when the seller signs (agrees) to the buyer's offer. This is NOT a guarantee of anything regarding the sellers lender approving the offer.

This is bad policy by the realtor association in your area and does more harm than good. It in essence takes homes off the market as buyers and their agents tend to not look at them. If the lender has not approved it, then somebody else could certainly make an offer that might be approved. Unfortunately unless you force your agent to show it to you, you'll never know. Simply put, s short sale requires third party approval, therefore a home marked as contingent is not approved and available. It is bad policy for buyers, sellers and banks and realtors need to stop the practice.

Feel free to contact me for more info. Although I am licensed in Virginia, I live in Florida. We recently bought a short sale.and had to deal with some real incompetence.

Yes. It would be considered ...

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:16:00 GMT

Yes. It would be considered a back up offer and would come into play if the buyer in first position either gives up or turns down the banks counter offer.