In the last few weeks, short sales seem to be easing up a bit, meaning that some are actually closing.
It seems that lenders are finally understanding that with prices in a free-fall, it’s better to allow a short sale than to let a property go through foreclosure.
The new short sales rules will begin next month. The greatest promise of the new short sale rules is that the lender will order its broker price opinion (BPO) before a contract is obtained by the seller and will actually tell the seller how much it wants to net from the short sale. While this sounds minor, it is huge. In the past, lenders would play a guessing game and would refuse to disclose how much they wanted to net from the short sale.
This WSJ article suggests that clients wait to list short sales until the new rules hit. I would say go ahead and try to list it now. Don’t wait.
Last week I closed a short sale. My client had three prior contracts fall through. Buyers signed contracts, waited 45 days, and then jumped ship quickly. All short sale buyers say that they will be patient, but in reality they are as nervous as alley cats. On the fourth contract, we finally closed. It took 7 months total. The lender did not ask for a note or cash payment from my client. It was a deficiency short sale, meaning the lender could pursue my client after closing for the shortage, but my client was willing to accept that risk.
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