Hi,
My husband and I have just made an offer on a short sale. We had no idea, when we made the offer, what this would entail and are just now learning. We only knew that we would be able to negotiate the price because the bank was involved, as the property was headed towards foreclosure. If it isn’t obvious, this is our first purchase.
We made the offer fifteen days ago. The seller accepted our terms and the offer has been with the bank since then. We were originally told that the bank would take five to ten days to respond. Does anyone have experience with this/ an estimate of how long banks can/ do take to respond to a short sale offer?
I know the feeling. We’re selling our house hopefully through a short sale. I haven’t heard anything for just a couple of days and I’m already crawling the walls!!! Waiting sucks, but hopefully it’ll be worth it.
I was also curious as to how long these things take. You see on the adverts that they can close within days, but then you read that it can take months. I think it’s all just a case of how complicated each situation is.
when they say they can close, they are talking about buying your property with the same financing in place. So you deed over the property and they take over your payments.
Those types of deals can be closed in the same day.
Wow!
So, it can take months? I wonder why the selling realtor said that the bank said that they would give us an answer in five to ten days??
Should we actually try to contact the bank, or should our realtor be contacting them every week or so.
Our realtor told us about a week ago or so that the BPO had been ordered. What is left for the bank to do after doing the appraisal?
Thanks for all of the responses. I really appreciate it.
It can take as little as one month, but I have not heard of one taking that little of time…3 to 5 months is more like it. Once a BPO is ordered the process will speed up…but patience is key…also hopefully they informed you that there is no guarantee the bank will accept the short sale offer…You have a better chance of acceptance if you are only looking for a small discount…say 10%…but if you are looking for a bigger discount your odds go down. Other facts the lender will consider is the condition of the property or is it unique…meaning harder for them to sell it if they take it back…this is just some of the info…
You guys are great! I am new at this and I am learning alot. I am trying to get into the short sales because I heard that you can get it done quicker and make more money out of it. I know this may sound stupid, but how do I get satarted…I get a paper, look for foreclosures, find a few and then send out some letters…what should I write so I won’t come across like a dork? Need help!!!
Thanks Loanman. Wow, three to five months is a long time. Well, I think that we only actually offered 14% lower than what the seller owes. However, we only offered about 6% below the asking price. We just offered that because that was what we could afford. Before we offered, I had no idea what a short sale was. In fact, it was kind of humorous because our realtor kept throwing around the term “short sale”, and my husband and I kept wondering why it was called a “short sale” when it seemed to be taking so long. Anyway, we are learning a lot now. What is left for the bank to do after ordering the BPO, and how long does the rest of their process usually take?
Hi, Beach. Hope you don’t mind my asking, but did they give you a date for the BPO yet? My bank will be getting my short sale package today, and I was just curious as to how long you have to wait between them ordering it and them actually coming out and appraising.
Moo.
P.S: I know this is a site for investors, but this is the only site I found that has any decent info on it and I’m trying to read as much as I can to help my situation as a seller. Sorry if it’s not the norm, but izz1966 is right, there’s a lot of great info on here!
Ann…
If you package was complete, the BPO is the important part. The value needs to come in near what you are offering…after lender has the value it is the waiting game to see if they will accept the offer…or whoever is handling the negotiations for you will be doing just that…negotiating…
Thanks for all of the info. Loanman. Maybe we are not too far off then; I can always hope I guess.
Moo,
I actually don’t know if the BPO has been done. Our realtor told us quite a while ago that it had been ordered, and I just assumed at that point that it would be done in the next day or so (since they had told us five to ten days until we would know their decision). But, I am going to call and find out if it has actually been done. I wonder if I am able to find out how much they actually appraised the place at (?) I guess I’ll find out. I’ll let you know what she says though.
I’ve been doing short sales for over three years and have submitted hundreds of short sale packages and I can tell you this; Don’t wait for the bank to respond! You should follow-up with the bank immediately after faxing you short sale package and the call at least every other day. It’s also critical to meet the agent at the property when they conduct the interior BPO. This agent needs to clearly understand from you why this offer is the best the bank should expect. You need to identify every problem with the house and make a case that support your offer.
I typically get short sales approved at 50 cents on the dollar because I meet the agent and make a great case at the time of the BPO or appraisal.
I’ve yet to complete a SS but I do know that you MUST keep on the lender. If you can fax the SS package to the lender while you are on the phone with them and confirm they are recieving your fax. If you are not on the phone with them at the time of the faxing then call them right after you complete the faxing to confirm reciept. Then 2-3 days later call them up to see if your info is in their system and/or who is assigned to your case. After that call and/or fax them at least 2 times a week asking your contact person for updates and if they need any additional information from you or the homeowner(HO). Tell them that when they are ready to conduct a BPO to contact you and the HO has given you a key and permission to let the appraiser into the property. As many others have said meet the appraiser at the home and point out all the problems and give him/her all relevent information to support your price. They may or may not use your info. Who knows. Just present it in an professional yet easy to understand format and pitch it the best you can. After the BPO comes in you still must keep contacting the lender, they never seem to want to call you. This is the point where you will do your negotiations and this could take months. There’s nothing short about a short sale.
I am in need of advise, a friend is going into bankruptcy and owes 406k on his house, the appreaised value would be around 425k-430k. Since he will be loosing the house and I want to buy it, as we talked the scenario of Short Sale came up. This house is in mint conditions and needs nothing as an improvement. What would be a good number that a bank notmally looks for in ahouse for Short Sale. He can sale it for the 406k to me, but as a short sale I can mave save some money. I would love to buy 80 cents to the dollar. but I want to make the offer where it may be in the banks best interest to sale to me faster. I have never bought or learned anything aboyt SS until today. Thanks for any help Jorge
Jorge…In my opinion what you describe is not a SS candidate. He owes $406, but value is $425K…bank can take it to auction and get what they are owed…the property can solve it’s own debt…so put yourself in their shoes…why accept less if they can get paid in full at auction and still be below market value…again just my point of view…I would not SS this. But here’s what I would do if you want to llive in it. But it “subject to” his existing loan(s). He deeds it to you, you bring it current and then continue to make the payments until a time that you agree to refi and remove his name from the loan. You get a house with equity, no qualifying and you helped your friend avoid FC…
In my experience with working with a mortgage lender and doing a short sale, it can take as long as they want it to. You job is to put them to work. Call them everyother day until something get’s done. Don’t wait! Waiting just takes longer. Don’t bother the person that will give you the YES answer, just call the foreclosure dept and ask them the status of the file and if the process has left any notes. I get an answer within 25 days on an average. Don’t take 3-4 months to close a deal, that just takes the price higher and that’s what the mortgage company wants, see what I mean? Close the transaction with the processor a.s.a.p
