Forum

Replies

  • Diego Marin May 20, 2011 at 2:24pm
    Unfortunately it's not that simple. CASH is certainly king, but many of the offers being made are cash. There is a process that takes place before a decision is made to accept or deny an offer. The average decision time I heard today is 54 days, down 20 days from previous time frames. It certainly makes it easier for the negotiator if all the borrowers documents are in place and up to date. For the buyer, you would need verifyable funds, and a Preliminary HUD-1 justifying your offer is very helpful (providing it makes $$$ sense to the lender).
  • Eric Rogers May 20, 2011 at 4:50am
    Also keep in mind that it may not be as simple as a yes or no answer. They may counter your offer, there may be a second lender involved that the seller may ask you to contribute towards a release etc. The best way for you to get information is to contact your agent for an update. They have probably already spoken to you about update frequency - I generally tell my clients that once we're in the approval process, a once-a-week update frequency is what I strive for. Anything shorter than that and it's frankly going to drive everyone nuts. Your agent should have explained that the process may take months to complete and, even though it's sometimes hard, patience is required. Sometimes there may be nothing to update - many lenders have loads of files they're going through and it may just require time to get to yours. You should never try and contact the seller's agent or, worse, the lender. You won't likely be any more successful with those two options than you would by contacting your own agent.
  • Jeff Payne May 20, 2011 at 4:41am

    Agreed. 60 to 90 days is pretty typical but they can take as much as 6 months.  Anything past that is a nightmare.  It all hinges on the investor and/or the MI company. The seller can send a qualified written request to the lender to find this info out.

    If you are a buyer for a short sale, I think you should ALWAYS expect the worst so that you are not surprised by anything. Plan on it taking 6 months and you will be happy when it is done in 4 :)

    Bryant Tutas said:

    Nestor. My experience with short sales is that they are taking 2-4 months depending on the lender, investor and mortgage insurance company. I have had a few that took 14 months but those are the exception.

    If you deal is already in the hands of the investor and the MI company then you are pretty far along in the process. How much is owed on the property has no baring on anything. Knowing who the investor and MI company is will not make things go quicker. Hang in there. I truly hope this all works out for you.

  • Smitty May 20, 2011 at 1:28am
    Unless your Realtor has authorization from the seller to speak to the lender, then you're not privy to this information.  Finding out who the investor is is another hurdle and if there is MI involved then you definitely have an uphill climb.  Again, you have to be patient.
  • Bryant Tutas May 20, 2011 at 1:27am

    Nestor. My experience with short sales is that they are taking 2-4 months depending on the lender, investor and mortgage insurance company. I have had a few that took 14 months but those are the exception.

    If you deal is already in the hands of the investor and the MI company then you are pretty far along in the process. How much is owed on the property has no baring on anything. Knowing who the investor and MI company is will not make things go quicker. Hang in there. I truly hope this all works out for you.

  • nestor May 19, 2011 at 7:34pm
    14 MONTHS to close?  oh no....I'm trying to buy a short sale as well.  It's been a couple of months already and I'm starting to wonder if it is really worth it.  I'm waiting on the investor and I guess the MI to make a decision.   How can I find out who the investor/MI & how much is owed on the property?  Would my realtor have this info?
  • Smitty May 19, 2011 at 1:11am
    It can take 6 weeks to 6 months.  I've done short sales that took 14 months to close.  I'm sorry to say if you really want this house, you need to be patient.
  • Marion Abele May 18, 2011 at 12:37pm
    but how long should the process take?
  • Smitty May 18, 2011 at 11:39am

    I disagree "somewhat" with Jeff and Harry.  I've seen lenders take a cash offer that was lower over a financed offer because the buyer could close quicker and obviously didn't have a finance contingency. 

     

    I have a BOA deal right now that I'm working that they REJECTED an offer for $315,000 on a property that was financed and a month later accepted an offer of $300,000 that was cash and could close in three weeks.  Who knows?


    I do think cash offers are always more favorable than financed, but unfortunately they are usually always lower too.

     

  • Jeff Payne May 18, 2011 at 6:56am

    Marion, the lisitng agent should be able to tell you where you are in the process.  In 6 weeks, providing the listing agent has submitted everything, there should be a negotiator assigned and an appraisal ordered....

    Your offer really hinges on 2 things, the sellers situation and the amount that the bank "thinks" your property is worth based on a market analysis

This reply was deleted.
********************************** like buttons ************************