Dealing with repairs on short sales and REO's

Prior to today's market situation, homeowners had to answer to repair requests from buyers. This has completely changed today.

What has changed regarding repairs? - With short sales and REO's making up most of the well-priced inventory, these homes come with an additional price...seller's are either not able to or unwilling to make repairs.

What kind of repairs? - Broken window? Incomplete pool barrier? Broken A/C unit? Won't pass FHA inspection unless fixed but the seller is unwilling or unable to fix...

The home inspection needs to be more thorough now than ever! - The home inspection now serves a different purpose to me and my clients. When a repair request is made and the money isn't there from the sellers, I have my buyers prioritize and schedule out a timeline that these "fixes" will occur. This way, they know the price going into the home and will not be dealing with a huge money pit later.

Chart out the course and attach dollar figures - It doesn't hurt to have a client get cold feet right after the inspection. Sure it doesn't feel good to lose a transaction but I would rather have it happen earlier than later. Time is of the essence. Get the dollar figures identified prior to the appraisal. This way, you don't waste the buyers' money on something they may not buy.

Get a concession - As long as the bank knows they will net more from the short sale than the REO, including your concession request, expect them to approve it.

Short sales can be tricky but at the end of it all, are you giving a fair deal to the bank instead of just some thrown together offer just to protect a client from foreclosure? If you are offering a fair deal, insist that the bank takes it.

Good luck!