A Short Sale Story

Some of you may wonder how short sales have been selling these days – this is an example of a short sale I’m closing in a couple weeks. These buyers, like many other buyers, have a very low price range for the neighborhood they really want, to be near their child’s school and their church. The house came on the market at probably $75k+ lower than it would have been if it weren’t a short sale, and it was clear there weren’t going to be many houses the buyer could afford in this neighborhood, so buyers went for it.

The house was on the market in wintertime, which meant it was winterized, with no water or power to the house – getting an inspection meant I had to arrange for the utilities to be turned on for the day of our home and sewer inspections – neither the bank nor the seller were willing to arrange or pay for the utilities to be turned on, so it fell to me to arrange it, and the buyers paid the fees. It turned out there are some updating and repairs that are needed at the house, like some plumbing & electrical updates, some drainage needs to be addressed, etc.– the bank wasn’t willing to pay for any of the repairs, so buyers had to decide if the house was still a good deal for them, and it was.

The buyers are getting a VA loan, which means the VA appraiser has to be satisfied as to the condition of the property before the VA will fund the loan. In this case, the appraiser had concerns about the old furnace, so we had to have a furnace professional out to assess it. If the furnace had to be replaced, it would’ve been at the buyer’s expense, as neither the bank nor the seller would pay for it, and it would have had to be before closing, (before they owned the home,) which is never good. We got lucky, and the furnace just needed a cleaning and servicing, which buyers paid for.

Many buyers can’t deal with the uncertainty of when short sales will close, so for some they’re just not a palatable option. The occasional hiccups and annoyances, like the banks not being helpful at all along the way, or taking care of any issues the homes have, or the process taking forever, put buyers over the edge sometimes. They really have to be prepared for what can happen, and have to decide if it’s a good option for them – frequently the prices they offer make them too attractive to ignore. We wrote the offer in February, and since they didn’t have a specific timeframe to move, they were ok with waiting indefinitely for the bank to respond – The seller agreed to the offer right away, then we had to await the bank’s response. We finally got word in June that the bank accepted the buyers’ offer (about 4 months later,) and we’re scheduled to close at the end of July. As always, if you have questions about short sales, don’t hesitate to ask the Real Estate Gals!