Practically every single day I battle this. I blame C.A.R. That would be the California Association of REALTORS, which creates the real estate forms we agents use in our business day in and day out. C.A.R. made the Short Sale Addendum difficult for the average Joe agent to use.
See, real estate agents don?t tend to read forms. They simply insert a property address and ask their clients to sign and date. If you don?t believe me, you?re not in the real estate business. Even though I may discuss with buyer?s agents the two points my sellers are looking for in an offer and they agree, those points are often not reflected in the short sale addendum. Even if I ask them to check the box in Section 3, they must hear: don?t check the box.
I?ve even had one agent argue with me about the 45-day default period to wait for short sale approval. That agent said if 45 days wasn?t sufficient, he actually believed that C.A.R. would not have made it a default period. He said it was there for a reason. Because that?s how long it should take. He trusts C.A.R. Has he closed any short sales? No. Oh, man.
A short sale does not take 45 days. It takes longer. Oh, sure there are the exceptions. Every so often I get a Bank of America short sale or a Wells Fargo short sale or a Wachovia short sale that gets approved in less than 6 weeks. But the bulk take longer than that.
Most of my Bank of America short sales are running 60 to 75 days. And Bank of America short sales are streamlined. I collect all short sale data upfront from my sellers. When we receive an offer, I get same-day HUD service. I also collect the buyer information for Equator on the day the offer is returned. An Equator file is initiated immediately and all tasks performed within 24 hours. Still, often it?s more than 45 days. Not to mention, if it?s a Fannie Mae short sale or there is private mortgage insurance or it is an FHA loan, those factors adds an extra layer, which adds even more time to the short sale process. God forbid if it?s a Chase short sale.
I?m betting C.A.R. was worried about frightening buyers by telling them the truth. They might have figured that, hey, agents can get an extension. C.A.R. also might have known that if the line was left blank, agents wouldn?t fill anything in, but for crying out loud why couldn?t they have made the default 60 days? Because when that period expires in Section 1, the purchase contract is over.
An agent sent me an offer yesterday for one of my Sacramento short sales. Unfortunately, it was from a buyer who had been shown the home by a different agent. That was already a strike against the buyer. Plus, the buyer had made it clear he had every intention of writing multiple offers. Strike two. The offer was for a VA loan with the seller paying everything, including pest (very difficult in a short sale), strike three. But the agent?s offer asked for short sale approval in 30 days. I-m-p-0-s-s-i-b-l-e. I looked up the agent?s production in MLS. I said I could see why a guy who had closed only 5 transactions in the past year and a half might not understand how short sales work.
Well, according to him, he has closed many, many short sales. Maybe I should hire him, he said.
Maybe he should go to work at C.A.R.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
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My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub?s personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
Tags: bank of america short sales, california association of realtors, car, sacramento short sale agent, sacramento short sales, short sale approval, Short Sales
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