Dear Howard:

Good question.

This counter from the seller's bank is part of the negotiation process. The bank is being shorted ("short sale"), so they are attempting to get the most out of the deal. Sometimes there counter comes in the form of a price increase, from your explanation they are countering on the seller's closing costs.

You can:
1. Counter again, say no
2. Counter and reach a middle ground
3. Counter say yes and get another concession in another area

It all depends, on the value you are getting on the house and are you prepared to walk away? Keep in mind when comparing this short sale with the available foreclosures on the market you can get up to a 22% free grant (22% of the purchase price) from the State of Arizona if you live in the house yourself for periods ranging from 5 10, or 15 years. This grant is not available on short sales.

So, analyze the value of your short sale, how much you love the home, against other available homes (foreclosure or short sales) in the immediate neighborhood.

By the way for a complete understanding of the short sale process, you may watch for free an excellent webinar on the entire short sale process on my website at: http://www.arizonahomesland.com/forsellersorlandlords.html

If I can ever answer any questions or help in your future real estate needs, please feel free to contact me. Regards, Jeff

Jeff Masich, Realtor®
Arizona Homes and Land
http://ArizonaHomesLand.com
480-556-0940
jmasich@usa.com
HomeSmart Real Estate

this depends, it is part of the negioation, if the extra $5,000 still makes the deal affordable you make the decision.
Many times the seller has cash to play with that may be hidden or they can sign a promissary note or many other options that may make the deal work.
Make sure you have compitent repersentation and run it by a CPA or lawyer


Andrew Monaghan, CRS, GRI, CDPE.
Team Leader,
The Monaghan Group
Keller Williams Professional Partners.
http://WWW.TheMonaghanGroup.com
Andrew@TheMonaghanGroup.com

For the most complete home search tool, visit http://www.themonaghangroup.com and click on the map.
602-308-4660 Ext 203 (O) 480-302-5816 (F)

Frankly, it's not your problem whether or not the seller has the money to pay closing costs. That bank is just trying to squeeze more cash out of the deal. I seriously doubt that bank is willing to throw that deal away for $5K. Have your agent to feel them out, and play a little hardball. You could either tell them, "No," or you could tell them you'd be willing to pay that $5K in exchange for a price reduction of $5K. The latter is a more "creative" way of saying "no".

It all depends on where the money is on the HUD1 if you place it into the price of the home NO. If you place it as a cost of purchase, it may be. Most of the time this is last minute to cover the 2nd lean holder.
Talk to an Escrow officer and your Tax person.
Good luck & best wishes.

Dear Howard:

Hi. If the house is fairlly priced no. If you are buying it under market, this is a normal request from a bank in a short sale. A short sale being different from a regular transaction. Both the seller and the bank have to accept the offer. My guess is that you can counter-offer, bring up some of the defects of the home which the bank most likely is not aware of. For more information about the short sale process with an excellent webinar on the subject see my website at: http://www.arizonahomesland.com/forsellersorlandlords.html

If you are unrepresented, please feel free to contact me with any additional questions. Take care.

Jeff Masich, Realtor
Arizona Homes and Land http://www.ArizonaHomesLand.com
480-556-0940
jmasich@usa.com
HomeSmart Real Estate

HI Howard,

ASK YOUR BUYER'S AGENT.

In my opinion, know that I stay away from short sales, if you want to buy the house, then pay the seller closing costs. Seller closing costs of $5,000 appears to be a bit high. You should get a breakdown of how the $5,000 will be spent and what fees it pays for. Does it pay for late fees, commissions, etc.?

ASK YOUR BUYERS AGENT.

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PAUL WELDEN
HomeSmart
602-503-4010
Exclusive Buyer's Agent