C Tann-Starr

Good morning. Short Sales occur when "net proceeds" from the sale are not enough to cover the sellers’ mortgage obligations and additional costs, like transfer taxes, because the seller is (a) unwilling to or (b) unable to cover the difference between projected escrow funds to be received and the actual balance owed.

Because each set of buyers and sellers are unique (think credit reports, specific property to be purchased and balances owed) the lender's loss mitigation units that the Realtors and Lawyers have to deal with are going to take their time to consider and review each "completed package" set before them. Underwriting is complicated and getting a bank to agree to take a loss on a property requires quite a bit of negotiating, so there is no standard or set time-frame in regards to hammering out an acceptance.

Concerning contracts, the NYS statutes covering fraud require real estate transactions to be in writing. A binder is your written offer to a seller setting out an outline of the basic points regarding your willing to purchase a property (e.g. the price, down payment, subject to inspection, appraisal, mortgage, tenancy on location, exclusions, personal property purchase of sellers furniture, etc) and an executed contract means the seller has accepted your offer to purchase.

At the point you have an executed contract regarding a potential short sale, the entire package goes to the bank for their third party approval. Without the banks approval of the short sale you have nothing. The bank's loss mitigation unit is going to engage in underwriting procedures where the credit reports, bank statements, mortgage commitment and a host of other financial points of order are going to be considered and reviewed. The process is complicated and time consuming but can be done if you are patient and willing to see the project through.

If you need a Realtor in Queens County to help you purchase a home, please feel free to contact me: CTannStarr@yahoo.com - Thu Nov 26 2009, 05:30