Are you considering buying a short sale? Are you a real estate agent showing and writing offers on short sales? Have you considered “qualifying” the listing before showing it to your buyer?
I submit to you that asking the listing agent the following questions and allowing your buyer to make an educated and informed decision about submitting an offer could save everyone a lot of time, money and frustration. Knowledge is power after all – and time is money!
1. Have you ever closed a short sale before?
2. How do you handle offers? Do you submit them all to the bank, not having your sellers sign (which, in effect, means there is no valid offer and acceptance) and let the bank figure it out? Or do you use multiple offer protocol, notify all agents to submit their highest and best offers, review them with the seller, have the seller accept or counter the best offer and them submit to the bank(s) for acceptance?
3. Have you requested and received the short sale package from the bank, including the hardship letter?
4. And more importantly, has the seller completed the hardship package? Have you confirmed receipt of the package from the bank?
5. What communication, if any, have you had with the bank?
6. Has the bank approved the list price?
7. Have you received any other offers that you are waiting to hear back on from the bank? Has the property been approved for a short sale prior and not closed?
8. Does the loan have PMI (mortgage insurance) which may require another level of approval or a pre-payment penalty?
9. Is there 1 or 2 deeds of trust? Any other liens?
10. What is the name of the bank(s)? Is the loan FHA or VA - again may require additional levels of approval?
11. How long do you estimate that the lender will take to provide an answer to an offer?
12. How far away from foreclosure is the seller? Has a Notice of Default or Notice of Sale been filed?
Thanks to real estate agent Debbie Tuttle of Prudential Americana Group, REALTORS in Las Vegas for passing along these great questions at a recent REO & Short Sale Panel held in our Henderson office.
