Your best bet is to work with a honest mortgage broker. They will check ltv (loan to value) Make sure you get the right mortgage for your circumstance. I happen to be a mortgage broker and would like to give you a quote. I receive wholesale mortgages and pass the savings on to consumers. It is a simple process and you can turn down a quote any time. If you are still looking or need advice give me a call @ 1-518-665-4299 ext 109
David Anderson

Wed Jan 30 2008, 10:29

If you love the house then wait until March. If you won't lose sleep over it go find one in the same location. There are too many deals out there if you are trying to find a discount.

Mon Jan 28 2008, 22:16

I specialize in short sales, foreclosures, and preforeclosures in the DFW homes for sale market. I have been a listing agent for a short sale, and a buyers agent for short sale, truly all CAN BE TRUE, banks are in the drivers seat NOT THE AGENTS we all have to work with the demands of the bank. It is not true that if you place an offer you are awarded the winning bid, banks do not move as quickly as a seller does considering the banks do have a short sale department HOWEVER this property is not the only property they have to deal with on a daily bases. SUGGESTION: either sit and await or go out and continue to search for a property, YOU ARE NOT OUT any money if the listing agent comes back states that you were awarded the winning bid, if you choose to move forward or pass. There are allot of Dallas homes for sale that are either short sales, preforeclosures, or foreclosures, HOWEVER KEEP IN MIND unless you are prepared to complete work on the property due to the fact if any of these properties short sales, preforeclosures, or foreclosures IN SOME INSTANCES NOT ALL, could require work to bring to standards just to live in considering the home owner may not have had the income to take care of the property. Sorry to hear this HOWEVER WHERE is your agent to assist you in this matter? If there is anyway I can assist you please call.

Sun Jan 27 2008, 07:58

Jamie,

Short sales work totally differently than an typical listing. The listing agent most likely does have several back up offers on the property. Short sales are negotiated with the bank and not the seller per say, because the bank has the final say in what they are willing to accept on the home. I specialize in short sales and they are a great opportunity to pick up a property at a great price, many times under value. They take alot of time to facilitate so buyers have to be patient, if they are not willing to be patient they dont need to bid on one. What happens is the listing agent submits the best and cleanest offer they recieve on the home, they then wait for loss mitigation department of the bank to review the offer and either, accept it or counter it. If they counter the listing agent has a responsibility to the first offeree to counter back, if they do not counter back then the agent is supposed to open up bidding to the remaining prospects that have wanted to be notified of the listing coming back available. The listing agent will then take the highest and cleanest offer and submit it to the lender. Please note that many times a contract may be submitted on a listing but not yet approved, so the listing agent will not place the listing into a pending status with MLS, that is why many times you may call on a home that is for sale and the agent will tell you that it is still active, but there is an offer already submitted to the lender and they have to wait on approval of that offer. I know this may sound confusing but as I stated right up front short sales are a different animal. Good luck to you and if I can help please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 214-908-5080 Cell

Sat Jan 26 2008, 08:42

It may just be the bank that is taking it's sweet time to respond, we just had a similar deal in the colony where my buyer waited for over 60 days!! We made an offer when the home had MAYBE 14 days on market, it didn't close until it had been 129 days on market and I think our offer was better than the one they ended up accepting. However the home needed some work and we ended up finding the buyer a much nicer home for about the same price that was not a foreclosure but seller was very motivated. Great deals out there now!

Sat Jan 26 2008, 08:28

Jamie,

That is a marketing tactic to have the sellers call you. I have personally attended 2 of these seminars where they teach you how to advertize "let me sell your house in 90 days or I will buy it".

The whole idea is for you to make the phone ring, set up the appointment and then make your listing presentation and the seller has to read the fine print where it says ... I will buy your house for the amount you owe or .50 on the dollar, or put whatever you want on there. The seller is probably tired of looking at different and interviewing agents so they just list the house without that clause on the listing agreement.

Also, the house we're talking about has been on the market since August of 2006... that's a year and a half !!!!!! It's been relisted as a new MLS 100 days ago...

Fri Jan 25 2008, 21:08

The listing agent says on their website that if the house doesn't sell within 120 days he buys the house. That is what seems fishy to me. We are sitting at a little over 100 days without selling the house. Why wouldn't the company have to buy the house? Am thinking about this too hard? lol

Fri Jan 25 2008, 20:44

BEST ANSWER
Hi Jamie,

If a listing agent tells you there are nine other offers--you should believe it. The listing agent does not get paid unless and until the property sells. By the sound of the conversation you had I would guess at least one of the offers are the listing agents and maybe even a cash offer. Looks like you might have even stumbled onto two of the interested parties here on Trulia. If you decide to proceed with the other agent, be realistic and don't give yourself false hopes. Don't believe someone just because they are telling you what you want to hear. If you are not an extremely strong buyer you may just want to keep looking.

I hope this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
Danelle Feigenbaum
Associate Broker/Realtor
Century21 Abrams, Hutchinson & Associates

Fri Jan 25 2008, 20:01

Yep... yes we are!!! call me is you want and we share info.

Naima

Fri Jan 25 2008, 19:19

Is the house in rowlett? I wonder if we are speaking of the same house.

Fri Jan 25 2008, 19:16

OMG... I am trying to get an answer on a very similar house in with the same pricing. The listing agent is telling me that the bank will not take less than 185K.... yet, she has it listed for 149K. The owner owes 195K... My client wanted to make an offer but the listing agent told me that she had several offers and that the bank will not give us an answer until March/April and not to bring an offer of less than 185K.

I wonder how she came up with that date and that amount?? I have closed a lot of short sales representing the buyer and sometimes representing the seller but this sounds very fishy to me...

Fri Jan 25 2008, 19:03

Hi Jamie,

As mentioned below, short sales can take a long time to close. And what buyers sometimes get hung up on is thinking that a short sale, or foreclosure is a good deal. Since you've only seen the house from the outside, you might not have any idea what condition it's in on the inside. A lot of times the previous homeowners leave the house completely trashed and basically unliveble, with foundation damage etc. If you're really in love with the house, I would suggest having a Realtor at least take you over there to see the condition of the inside before you make your decision. I would be more than happy to assist you and make an appointment to view the property for you. Since the bank isn't deciding until March, you have plenty of time. But please, like I mentioned before, don't get caught up in thinking that a short sale is automatically a good deal.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, or if I can help you with anything.

Michelle Hackney
972-380-7823

Fri Jan 25 2008, 18:03

Short sales and foreclosures can be tricky. This is a common situation. If you are patient and can wait out the bank you may be able to get a good deal. They can also decide not to accept the deal after months of waiting and some non-reimbursable expenses by you. You definately will want a buyers agent to walk you through the process step by step. This is typically a free service to you. If you need assistance please feel free to contact me.

Fri Jan 25 2008, 18:00

Basically what it is that this short sale is being negotiated with bank. The bank has a process to determine whether they will accept the sale for less than the balance owed or just take the home into foreclosure. If you really love the home then I can help you submit an offer contingent on bank approval. You would just need to look at the comparables to see what a good price for that home would be and make sure you are ok with that and then submit and wait it out. There are no guarantees on a short sale that bank will accept. It could be months before this deal closes or it could be in March as stated before by bank. Right now there are lots of opportunities and we may be able to help you find a home that maybe is already at foreclosure status that may be a better deal for you without the wait such as a HUD home etc. With interest rates the way they are now is a great time to buy!! Let me know if I can be of assistance or feel free to call or email if you want to discuss this in more detail!

Fri Jan 25 2008, 17:36