A short sale can be a very good deal,Owner has to agree to the price offered,gives the bank which holds the mortgage the offer,bank may make counter offer or accept the offer,providing theres no better offer on the table
KEN BRYAN Bkr/assoc Coldwell Banker 1 561 385 4790

Sometimes yes. Often no. The same applies to foreclosures.

Let me get very specific. There's a house that's active right now in Woodbridge, Virginia. It's a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse. It was bought on January 18, 2006 for $285,000. In early 2007, it was on the market as a short sale at $198,900. Was that a good deal? Well, gee, that's a 30% discount, right?

The bank foreclosed and took it back on July 3, 2007. It's now an REO, listed at $186,900. Now, THAT must be a bargain, right? That's a 34% discount. Ready to write a check? I hope not.

I ran the comps on that neighborhood today. There were 34 comps--properties that had been listed for sale within the past 180 days. Of those 34, 4 had sold. (Note the downward price trend):

4610 Whitaker Place
Close Price: $130,000
Seller Subsidy: $3,900
Close Date: April 14, 2008
Days on Market: 278

4747 Hedrick Lane
Close Price: $140,000
Seller Subsidy: $5,600
Close Date: March 26, 2008
Days on Market: 230

4682 Hercules Lane
Close Price: $172,000
Seller Subsidy: $13,760
Close Date: March 15, 2008
Days on Market: 71

4666 Prather Place
Close Price: $180,000
Seller Subsidy: $5,400
Close Date: December 10, 2007
Days on Market: 113

There are two houses in the subdivision under contract. Because they're under contract, we don't know the sale price or whether any seller subsidy was involved. However, we can assume that the effective sales price is below what the properties were listed for:

4646 Charlton Ct.
List Price: $134,900
Days on Market: 6

4728 Still Place
List Price: $94,000
Days on Market: 344

Among the active listings:

4667 Charlton Court
List Price: $120,000
Days on Market: 143

4645 Charlton Court
List Price: $125,000
Days on Market: 167

4675 Whitaker Pl.
List Price: $125,910
Days on Market: 65

So what's that tell us? The fair market value of that REO at $186,900...that had been a short sale at $198,900...is probably in the neighborhood of $110,000.

Now, most of the other REOs in the neighborhood aren't as badly overpriced. But others are priced at $139,000, $135,900, $129,900, and another at $129,900.

Are those good deals? Well, maybe when compared to what they sold for a few years ago. Maybe when compared to what they'll sell for 5 years from now. But not when they're compared to what's selling...and not when you taken the downward price slide into consideration.

Hope that answers your question.

Some are, Some aren't...
The reason being that there are plenty of values out there without distress. Distress in the borrower could mean distress in the property. It also requires a lot of time and patience. It isn't as easy to get a short sale as they make it on TV and Infomercials.
If you are looking to make the move down here whether full time or as a Snowbird, you need to find yourself a buyer's agent - identify where you want to go - and then see what values exist in that community.
Would you go after a Short sale listed for $250,000 if you know you have to deal with a bank for weeks when you could get a conventional sale for $250,000 and have a smooth, stress free escrow?

I just showed condos in Boynton Beach today. There is a ground floor for $165K... and a 6th Floor short sale for $167K. There is also a unit in the complex next door which may be nicer for $150K without a short sale!! The value is without a doubt next door but without a buyers agent looking for you - you could miss the real bargain!

Susan,
Good deal for who?
The seller who's credit is trashed.
The bank who has to write off at least some of the bad loan?
The buyer who is never really seems to know if they have a deal or not?
When a see "short sale" on MLS I recommend to my buyer we look elsewhere. However I guess if you really wanted that paticular house it might be worth trying to get an offer through.
Michael Doyle Realtor

Part II

I have worked many Short Sales.

There are no Cookie-Cutter Answers.

Every Answer that you hear of, may or may not apply to Your Purchase.

That is because there are

so many Parameters

that are involved

that Affects Each and Every Player, together or separately,

in the Short Sale Process.


I mentioned Player above.

The Players are:

1) The Home Owner,

2) The Mortgage Company/Bank

(This is the Company that loaned the money to the Home Owner in order to Purchase the Home. The Home Owner applied for a loan with the Mortgage Company/Bank to get the loan.)


Often, the Mortgage Company/Bank sells the loan to an Investor, but the Mortgage Company/Bank continues to SERVICE the loan. This means that the Home Owner pays the Mortgage Servicing Company for a Loan that is owned by an Investor, and the Mortgage Servicing Company is paid handsomely by the Investor for servicing the loan. Very few people remember the Disclosure Statement that indicated that they sell the loans to others!


3) The MORTGAGE SERVICING Company,

4) The Lender/Investor

(The Lender/Investor is different from the Mortgage Servicing Company)

5) The Listing Real Estate Agent/Brokerage

6) The Buyer's Real Estate Agent/Brokerage

7) The Home Owner's Association/Condo Association

8) The Foreclosure Attorney

9) The Loss Mitigation Representative of the Mortgage Company

10) The Loss Mitigation Representative of the Investor

11) The Collection Agency hired by the Mortgage Company/Investor

12) All of the Lawyers hired by all of the above

13) The Liens and Judgments (and the Lawyers associated), including Mechanics Liens, Federal Tax Liens, etc.,

14) Garnishments, Bankruptcies, and Liens, OH MY! (a little humor for you)

15) The Electric, Gas, Water, Sewer, Trash, Cable, etc companies

16) Did the Mortgage Company buy MORTGAGE INSURANCE and never tell you, and hence Will Refuse a small payment as a work out?

17) The Secondary Mortgage Market

18) The Government Bail Outs

19) The Election

20) The Stock Market

21) The Feds and their manipulation of the Central Bank

22) fill in the blank ______________________________________

and now for the Slammer,,,,,

If there is a Second Mortgage on the property, MULTIPLY WHAT WE HAVE HERE, by TWO! (not really but there is some truth)

And a double Slammer,,,,,,

If the home is an Investment Property or a Secondary Residence, then there are other problems….


I suspect we have had enough education for Part II



If, by any chance, you may know any folks in a predicament with their mortgage payments, make sure they contact

A) an attorney experienced in 1) Real Estate Transactions, 2) Foreclosures, 3) Bankruptcy, 3) Short Sales, 4) IRS Tax Liens, 5) etc.,
B) a CPA for Tax repercussions,
C) and an experienced Real Estate Sales Associate.

Stay Tuned for the next Part…

Hi Susan,

Without a doubt, a Short Sale can turn into a Good Deal, but, in general, you need a Guide to help you along in the Sale, the Purchase, and/or Both,

with each property!

It is usually a good deal for the Home Owner, a good deal for the Home Buyer, and a good deal for the Existing Investor/Mortgage Company. In Fact, that is usually what happens in a Short Sale!

In case you did not know,

a Real Estate Short Sale is

any Real Estate Sale where

the Bank/Mortgage Company

AGREES to ACCEPT

less than what is owed on a property

in exchange for

removing All Bank/Mortgage Company Liens from the property

in order to allow the Home Owner to sell the property to the Home Buyer, so that the Home Buyer can purchase that home

without any Mortgage Liens on that property,

such that the Home Buyer can obtain the property without any Clouds of Title on the property.,

There are many other facets to a Short Sale. The Guide will explain them to you,

Be sure to use the Guide (Experienced Short Sale Realtor) to help you through the process!

More to come later,,,

(Who can offer their property for sale using a Short Sale, the personal cost of selling a home using a Short Sale, why the Bank/Mortgage Compny will work with a Home Owner (and more importantly, Why a Bank/Mortgage Company WILL NOT work with a Home Owner), how to speak with the Short Sale Experienced Realtor, the Bank, the Owner, the Buyer, etc,)

As Lisa Stated, short sales can take quite a long time to process with the lender. I have been involved in short sales where it took 4 weeks to get a response from the bank. Also keep in mind that you are essentially negotiating with two parties on the sellers side. The bank and and owner. After all, the owner has to agree to short sale the property at a certain price. If you attempt to make an offer that will result in a short sale have patience and make sure that the agent that is communicating with the lender is persistent in communicating with the lender. The people working at the lenders are overwhelmed by the flood of requests for short sales and many of them seem to be just learning how the process works within their company.

Again, these can be long drawn out processes and it does take patience but their are some opportunities to get a slightly better deal from a short sale. I would not expect a huge deal though. Don't exclude the other homes on the market. Sellers are more willing to come down in price as everyone now seems to understand the market we are in.

Most people run from shortsales because they are long, tedious processes that exhaust even the most patient of buyers.

IF, a big IF the listing agent is experienced, has already submitted the full financial package AND has possibly already submitted an offer to initiate the process; it may be possible to achieve a good deal on a short sale. Most buyers and their agents do not have the patience or stomach for the short sale process. More often then not, the bank shoots themself in the foot and forecloses on the property before they can get out of their own way and allow the deal to happen.

However, keep in mind that bank owned properties are usually a quick response and are often a good deal if you know what you're looking for. They reduce their price every 30 days and if the agent is responsive and helpful, a great deal can be had.

Stick to bank owned if you can but if you're going to dabble in short sales, make sure their is an experienced agent on both ends. Those are not the kind of transactions to "get your feet wet" with.

Susan, a short sale can be a good deal. But you should check with a realtor so they can give you an accurate comparable of the neighborhood. I recently had a short sale transaction where the purchase price was $700k but the comparables 2 years later showed the home was only valued at $550k. The lender would not accept anything less than $600k. So it that case it was not worth it.