Thinking about buying a short sale in the Phoeinx Metro? Here are 9 tips to help make the short sale process as quick and painless as possible:
- Short sales are common – in some areas in the greater Phoenix Metro, more than 50% of the homes being sold are short sales. This means there’s a lot of properties for you to choose from.
- Keep in mind that deciding on a short sale is slightly more complex than deciding on a normal home purchase. Your decision needs to weigh in both whether you like the house or not and the ease and likelihood that the seller and lender will close.
- Having a real estate agent who’s experienced in short sales will make a big difference. It costs you nothing – the bank pays the commissions and it will make your whole process so much faster by having an experienced professional to guide you.
- Seller’s agents will often list short sales at “low ball” prices. These prices are usually too low for the lenders to accept. If you see a listing with a price that’s so low it just doesn’t seem to make sense, chances are the sale is not going to be approved.
- Even once you’ve made an offer, the bank will often leave the property on the market for several weeks or months. If they get a higher offer you may be left in the dust, and sometimes they won’t even tell you until weeks later that they chose another offer. In other words, until you get the final OK and they take the property off the market, keep your fingers crossed.
- Make sure you have your agent pull the public records of the property you’re considering before you make an offer. Know how much is owed, how many loans there are and whether or not there are any liens on the property.
- Liens and repairs are a different animal with short sales. In a traditional sale, the seller would cover all the costs needed to have the house is good condition. They would pay for any liens before title transfer. In a short sale, the seller doesn’t have the money to do either – And wouldn’t have the incentive to fork out cash from their pocket and get paid nothing anyway. The banks aren’t going to pay for either. In other words, it’s on you – So be sure you know exactly how much liens and repairs are going to cost upfront.
- If you’re browsing the MLS, these properties won’t be listed as “short sale” because sellers and lenders consider this unprofessional. Instead, the listings will say “subject to lender approval,” “pre-foreclosure,” or “bank approval needed.”
- The lender might ask you to pay more honest money deposit than your initial offer. They’re a bank and they want security – this is to be expected.
Question? Call one of out short sale specialists at 480-331-2832
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