A Must Know – Short Sale Questions Before Writing An Offer

We need to look at short sales as a positive transaction instead of a negative one. There are so many Arizona short sales, foreclosures, REO’s and bank-owned properties on the market today. Short sales are by far leading the pack. We can no longer ignore these homes as it drastically limits our buyer’s choices.

There are ways to help ease the pain and frustration for your buyers when a short sale is involved. Before writing an offer on a short sale home, it is critical for the Buyer’s agent to ask the listing agent direct and specific questions. These questions will save the agent and buyer a tremendous amount of time and disappointment as well as keeping the buyer, YOUR BUYER.

Buyer’s and Seller’s depend on an agents knowledge, expertise and experience. It is of the utmost importance that the agents involved in short sale transactions are experts in the field. The following are a list of questions that should be asked by the Buyer’s agent to the Seller’s agent prior to writing an offer on a short sale home: Memorize these questions as it will place you and your clients in a better bargaining position and lessen your wait time.

Which bank are you dealing with? The more information we have about the bank, the better time line the agent can give the buyer. Banks, Mortgage companies and lenders are getting reputations as to how fast or slow they process offers they receive from a buyer.

What lender(s) carry the mortgage? Knowing which banks hold the notes is important. Some banks are responding to offers in as little as a week while others are taking several weeks or months.

Is there more than one lien holder? If two or more lien holders are involved approval of the short sale may never come to fruition. All lien holders have to approve the short sale.

Have you received any other offers? The MLS Rules and Regulations have set rules to follow that address multiple offers. Be sure you and the listing agent are well versed with the rules.

Is the short sale documentation complete? This should be done by the seller with assistance from the listing agent before the home is placed on the market. Offers have no substance and will not be entertained until this short sale package is complete and approved by the lender. A response from the lender on your offer will be a mute point if this paperwork has not been completed.

How familiar are you with the bank’s process? This will give you an idea if the listing agent has done any short sale transactions in the past. This process is essential to all parties. Short sales will be around for at a few more years. Asking these questions will better position you and your buyer to a smoother transaction and close of escrow. This time line will ease some of your buyer’s concerns and frustrations.

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