Short Sale Closing Tips For Homeowners

Update 2010: Short Sales Are Tough To Close

Why are they so tough?  The easy answer is “many factors”.

Things such as:

• Local market conditions – High foreclosure rate and lack of buyers
• Condition of the property – Is it attractive to buyers in the “as is” condition
• Buyer fails to close – Buyers often back out
• Lender delays – Drives away buyers
• Mortgage insurance – Lender may gain more with foreclosure

Many experienced Realtors would pin the #1 reason for short sale failure on the buyer’s failing to close. Most often it’s the result of two things:

1. Buyer found another property that closed before short sale approval
2. Buyer simply grows frustrated with the long process.

If you need a short sale what can you do?

• Educate Buyers – Explain to the buyer that short sales are difficult to close.   
• Set reasonable expectation with the buyer – Make sure the buyers understand there will be long delays.  It could take over 4 months before they can move into the home. 
• Find a short sale investor – A short sale investor could be the type of knowledgeable buyer a seller needs to avoid foreclosure.

One of the best options for a distressed homeowner is to find a short sale investor who understands the long process and will stay in the transaction until it closes. 

Having a committed buyer may mean a lower sales price but is that really important to the distressed seller. 

If the real estate investor completes the short sale, it will result in a faster financial recoverery for the distressed homeowner and less credit damage.

One quick tip to find a real estate investor is just to use a search engine like Yahoo or Google and search terms such as Short Sale Boston or Avoid Foreclosure Boston and you may find a good real estate investor such as AllCountyShortSaleBuyers.com

For Sellers considering an investor offer they should weigh the benefits of possibly closing the short sale faster vs the risk of finding a retail buyer who will stay in the transaction until final lender approval.