Jane,

This is truly the saga of a "short sale." There is no set time for the successful completion of a short sale. We have heard reports of 5, 6 or even more months of waiting only to find the disappointment of not getting the home.

Good luck with your effort, hopefully it will work out and you will soon be able to enjoy your new home.

Sat May 24 2008, 19:55

Hi Jane,

I just want to comment on one of your statements here.

"The realtor said the bank ordered an appraisal and it's 20K more than our offering price"


More than likely, the Loan Servicing Company (not the Bank)

ordered a BPO (Broker's Price Opinion from perhaps Laymen Real Estate Agents and not from an Appraiser, and hence you did not receive an Appraisal from an Appraiser)

and your BPO came in $20k more than your offered price.


There is a lot of confusion here.


I tried my hand at offering BPO's to the Loan Servicing Companies.

There is a phrase,,, "TIME ADDED VALUE"

that a lot of people do not know of,,,,, and fewer people understand.

Is it TIME ADDED value,
or is it TIME added value,
or is it TIME added VALUE,
or is it TIME VALUE ADDED
or is it time ADDED VALUE,,,
etc.

WAIT,,,if we are in a depreciating market, that means that we are losing Value.

Wait,,, if we are losing value over time,,, then there is a NEGATIVE VALUE over time.

SO, if we have a TIME VALUE that is NEGATIVE over time,,,,

can we add a NEGATIVE NUMBER to a current Value (that Current Value would be a certain number)

and if so, then What do we have?

Enough Jibberish,,,,


My advice to you is to stay in with the Short Sale,,,
(IF THE CURRENT OWNER IS IN A SEVER FINANCIAL CRISIS).

In my Opinon, we are doing all of the right things to get us out of this SEVERE REAL ESTATE MARKET CORRECTION.

The BUBBLE BURST and is soon to be HISTORY (AFTER 3 YEARS ,,, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).


HOWEVER, We are experiencing MULTIPLE OFFERS ON

Deeply Discounted
BANK OWNED PROPERTY SALES,

and all of the other Distressed Sales.

The BOTTOM FEEDERS are out competing with Other Bottom Feeders and they are making multiple offers on deeply discounted properties.

That means that there is a Bottom
and that Bottom is currently defined!

Buying Pressure is HIGH,,, and it is getting Higher every day,,, It will be Increasing more and more...

Soon the Timid will be Making Offers


Interest Rates are acceptable, and

The Government is Pumping lots of dollars into the National Economy.


It takes time for the Economy to turn around. But, until it turns around,

A Short Sale will probably yield you a favorable Price over time.

More to come later,,,,

Sincerely,

Steven P. Wood, Realtor
Illustrated Properties Real Estate, Inc.
7100 Fairway Drive, Suite 44
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33418

Direct: 1-800-298-2566

eMail: Steven_P_Wood@msn.com

Web: www.homepages.com/StevenWood1
http://stevenwood.rmlsfl.mlxchange.com/
http://www.ByJoveMyHome.com/

Office: 561-626-7900
Fax: 561-624-2911
Cell: 703-851-6535

I am at Your Service for ALL of Your Real Estate Needs, Specializing in Jupiter, Juno Beach, Tequesta and Palm Beach Gardens !!!

Wed Apr 9 2008, 21:14

Banks will pursue a deficiency judgement against the current property owners when they can. If the current owners retain title 2 months longer, that is additional revenue for the bank......if they are able to collect. Even when the bank does not collect, they carry it on their books as a receivable.

Banks don't have an incentive to bring the contract to closing quickly.

Wed Apr 9 2008, 19:40

That is why I don't like short Sales. My client's usually require 24 to 48 hours reply to their offers and with short sales it can take up to 3 months or more...

The best person to explain you about your time frame will be your realtor and the bank you are dealing with, as each deal fits a different situation.

In regards to being "tied down", you should consult a real estate attorney, or foreclosure attorney to guide you to the right direction.

Wed Apr 9 2008, 19:36

Short Sales are an interesting bunch. The biggest problem with the majority of them (at least in my area) are that quite a few realtors don't know how to handle them properly. I would definitely not hold your breath on that property. It is absolutely in the banks best interest to keep you on the hook by selling the dream (what an amazing deal! we'll hold out just another couple of weeks), hope for another offer to come in, and keep collecting (or trying to collect) the (usually mostly interest) payments from the seller. Short sales routinely take between 3 weeks and 6 months to get an answer (if you get one at all - I've had my share of offers completely ignored by banks).

Foreclosures are a completely different story - as the bank already owns them, is paying utilities & maintennance & taxes on them, and is watching them depreciate in value on a daily basis (homes are like gardens...if you don't live in them/take care of them properly, they tend to wilt) - the bank is much more willing to make a quick decision to accept an offer to take the property off of their books.

Wed Apr 9 2008, 19:24

In my opinion, I would ask for my deposit back and move on with your life and house hunting opps. Do not get bogged down with 'short sales'. They are a waste of time. Again, this is my personal opinion, but it's also the same good advice I would give to a best friend or family member. Instead of asking your agent/broker to find you short sales, tell them you specifically want to look for BANK OWNED properties only. There is a big difference between the two. You will get an answer for the bank between 24-48 hours in most cases. They are much more amenable to legitimate, bona-fide offers for their bank owned properties sitting in inventory.

Best of luck!!

Wed Apr 9 2008, 18:20