Ok, so you're realtor just called. That beautiful 3/2/1 Mediterranean-styled TH just went under contract, even though you only saw it this morning. Seems the seller signed right after your showing...and you just missed the opportunity of a lifetime, right?

Wrong.

If you have a savvy realtor, he or she should be advising you to MAKE A BACKUP OFFER!

"Oh, not a backup offer," you say, " they take up too much time and you might never get the property."

Um, hello...isn't that the definition of all short sales????

Let me enlighten you, without charge, to one of the little short sale secrets in our business...the FIRST buyer RARELY gets the home...it's normally the SECOND but most likely the THIRD buyer who puts an offer in that gets it.

Now this may be hard to believe, but let me illustrate w/ Buyer A, B, & C.

Buyer A is hitting the streets hard...they know everything out there, are waving their mortgage pre-approval letter at anyone who will notice, and have written about 4 offers that have gotten nowhere. I just listed that beautiful 3/2/1 Med-styled TH at a competitive price that I can justify (the key!). Buyer A comes screaming in 3 days after it hits the market and write an offer on the hood of their agent's car (yeah, that used to happen). The seller executes the offer and then....

...they wait...

...and wait...

...and wait some more.

Days pass, then a couple weeks, and now a month. They get an update every once and a while - the bank this or the bank that. No negotiator, no BPO done yet. So they wait some more...

In the meantime, Buyer A keeps hoping (and shopping).

Buyer B comes along after about 5 weeks of my listing being on the market and they love it, too. Perfect for their first home. I tell the agent there's an offer in place but NO BACKUPS. Buyer B thinks about it, thinks some more, but just can't get the motivation to put in that backup. After all, backup's never work out.

About 7 weeks into it, we get the BPO done and a negotiator assigned. Buyer A gets a momentary blur of excitement. And then waits some more. Oh, a new TH just came on the market for $10k and it's NOT a short sale...hmmm.

At about Week 8, Buyer C comes through. They are savvy, know about the contract in place, have asked how long the 1st contract has been in place, and that there are no backups. They put in a backup BUT decide to keep shopping. Now they have reserved a spot and all they have to do is serve written notice if they want to cancel...done deal.

About this time, Buyer B (or D, E, F, etc) comes back...but it's too late. You can be a 2nd backup, which still isnt bad, but your odds are much less). Buyer A has emotionally moved on...they pull their contract. Buyer C slides right into 1st place, the bank negotiator substitutes their name into the deal, and 2 - 4 weeks later, I email them the approval letter.

This happens ALL DAY LONG. So don't be an "B"...if you can't be an "A" then be a "C" and cash in on everyone else's time and waiting!

Have you loved your Short Sale Buyer today???

I was recently commiserating with a colleague of mine about the state of the real estate industry and how short sales should be ceremoniously renamed "long" sales 'cause there ain't nothin' short about ‘em!

She shared a short anecdote with me that a seller had become uncooperative because a buyer wanted to do multiple inspections, show the home to visiting family members, etc. My colleague related that the seller had taken the position that the buyer was getting such a good deal on the home that they (the buyer) should just be happy with the deal and leave the seller alone.

I haven't had that occur (yet) and I can understand the seller’s point of view. No one wants to sell their property for less than market value, lose their down payment and any equity they once had, and have to take a small hit on their credit to do so. let's face it...there are hurt feelings involved.

As I ruminated on this story one night, I got to think that the seller should be grateful they have a buyer who's willing to take the home off their hands. Here's why:

1) The buyer has the courage to buy in a depreciating market. If Apple stock showed 4 years of cumulative losses, how eager would you be to throw your money in? Granted it doesn't seem like it can go much lower and in some places has reversed course AND we’re talking about mortar and bricks vs. paper stock, but you get the point. Buyers should be applauded for wading into the market rather than sitting on the sidelines.

2) Buyer’s have the patience to jump through all the hoops a short sale requires. I have counseled too many Buyers not to get their hopes up but inevitably all do at some point in the transaction. Having the saintly patience and perseverance to wait for some behemoth lender in a land far, far away to approve of a deal where they take an immediate loss should be rewarded, if just with the appreciation of the seller. Tom Petty must have been in a short sale deal when he prophetically wrote, “The waiting is the hardest part!”

3) The most import reason a seller should be appreciative of a short sale Buyer is that this Buyer is going to relieve you, Mr. Seller, of tens of thousands and possibly HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars of negative equity. When combined with the government’s non-taxation of that forgiven debt (for primary homes only), you have just witnessed one of the biggest get-out-of-jail-free, please-move-on-with-your life, water-under-the-bridge cards ever thrown a citizen’s way!

The moral of this anecdote is: don’t bite the hand that will get you out of your majorly upside down mortgage. In fact, put the Buyer on your holiday card list! The only thing a short sale Buyer is guilty of is having the ability to purchase a home in a down market…essentially, good timing.

Love your Buyer and they will love you back (and get you out of that mortgage you hate paying!).

I am pleased to announce that I have just earned the National Association of Realtor "SFR" designation - the Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource designation. With such a large contingent of my business being short sales and bank-owned foreclosures, I felt my clients would be best-represented by a realtor who is certified in such areas.

I take pride in handling my short sales with dogged determination and efficiency. To date, I have closed 10+ short sales with excellent results for my sellers. The key to Short sale success is constant communication with all parties involved. It keeps the banks moving forward, the buyers engaged, and the sellers optimistic.

Here are a couple terms that may be new to you:

1. Convenient foreclosure: This occurs when the seller already has a second dwelling to move to and will allow their over-mortgaged property to be taken back by the lender, regardless of their monetary assets.
2. Strategic foreclosure: An occurence where a homeowner will acquire a 2nd home BEFORE their 1st home goes into foreclosure with the express intent of allowing the 1st home to be taken back by the bank.

The bottom line: this massively-depreciated real estate market has affected just about everyone I know and I have re-committed myself to assisting embattled owners as best I can.

If you have any questions about the short sale process, just let me know. I don't profess to know EVERY thing about the sale process, as each bank is different. However, there are general rules that most banks adhere to and I'm always willing to share my knowledge to help a client.