There is no shortage of advice on how to make a short sale transaction a successful one. While many of them are very valuable, too often experts concentrate on complicated strategies, missing the main point: success is in the package, stupid!When you decide to short sell your house, you need to submit a package of documents to your lender. You need to prove that financial hardship, not lack of responsibility, caused you to choose this path.One small mistake in the documents or a missing page can derail months-long efforts and push home owner into foreclosure.Bear in mind that once you submit the package, making any changes to it can be time consuming and reduce your chances of successfully selling the property.Loss mitigation departments are really slow and inefficient. Sometimes just to look into the package for the first time can take weeks. If after initial screening the package appears to contain any mistakes, bank employee will go to the next package and let yours sit for at least 10-20 days.Even if you send the updated information or missing documents promptly, it is very likely the package will stay in a "sandbox" for a few weeks until being reunited with the missing documents. So the importance of getting it right from the first time cannot be stressed enough.Then there are many quirks that only experienced professionals would know. For instance, you probably know that including a hardship letter in your package is a must. If you lost your job, you will mention that in the letter.Guess what. If you do not write a separate letter of explanation where you explicitly tell that you are not getting any paychecks and do not have any pay stubs, in a month or so you will receive a notice from the bank asking to prove that you are not receiving any paychecks.Common sense would suggest that if a person states he is unemployed that means he is not receiving a paycheck. Well, common sense is not exactly the most accurate term to describe a short sale process.If this is not ridiculous enough, wait for what's coming. Some banks require notifying them by phone before sending a package. If you do not call them, you can be almost 100 percent sure your hard work will be buried in the deep drawers of a loss mitigation department for too long.To make things worse, some banks accept generic forms; others have their own and would accept only those. Mix these up and your 'short sale' will become 'long sale' or 'no sale' whatsoever.And all of this is just a tip of an iceberg. Brokers who deal with many short sale transactions know hundreds of similar instances and have skills to handle it properly.Preparing a successful short sale package is not a rocket science, but inexperienced agent can do much more harm than good. One of the biggest mistakes home owners make is selecting top real estate agent in his or her area to put the short sale process together.The person can be a top-seller and multimillion dollar producer, but if he or she has little experience with short sales, he is not a professional you need to look for.Only somebody who has been doing it for at least a few years on daily basis can make a short sale really 'short' and help you get out of troubled waters unharmed.While looking for real estate professionals to help you navigate short sale process, ask whether they have experience in this particular area and what their closing ratio is.Also inquire whether agency works with real estate investors who actually have cash. Having buyers with cash readily available will always increase chances of a successful short sale.
Hi there. I know that designations may not mean too much however, I'd like to brush up on my education. I've heard lots about CDPE and also come across CSP. Right now, I am leaning towards CSP to gain more knowledge. Any feedback is appreciated. I have done short sales before but any extra info is always good.
You're so correct in many points. I'd like to add in my 2 cents: never submit a short sale package without a good offer. If the offer is not at market value or a bit higher, don't even try it.
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I agree.
If you have cash investors offer won't be higher than market value ever.