Why You're Frustrated Trying to Buy a Short Sale

I'll explain the steps involved in buying a short sale property, but first let me define a few terms.

A "short sale" means that if the owner sells the property, there won't be enough money to pay the bank what is owed. The owner is "short".

The "borrower", the "owner", and the "seller" are all the same person.

The "bank", also known as the "lender", does not own the property. Even so, for the owner to be able to sell the property he needs the bank's agreement to discount what is owed.

The "package" is the documentation that must be sent to the bank so they can decide whether or not to accept a short sale and at what price.

The "agent" is the real estate professional that the owner hires to market the property and represent him during the short sale process.

Now here's how it works. The seller and his agent decide to attempt a short sale. There is no guarantee that a short sale will work, since the bank may or may not go along with it. While experience tells us which circumstances have the best chances of success, the rules are constantly changing so no one can predict the outcome with certainty.

The agent's first job is to create the package. This involves, among other things, hardship documentation, a Broker's Price Opinion, photos, and most importantly an OFFER. The bank will misplace (this is code for shred) any incomplete package, so there is no point in submitting a package without an offer.

How does the agent generate an offer quickly? By listing the property at an unreasonably low price. The owner will net zero from the sale, so the price doesn't matter to him. The agent's first priority at this point is only to generate an offer, any offer. In fact, the agent might know some investors who will throw a lowball offer at anything, and in this case you see the listing hit the MLS with an accepted offer on day one. "Accepted offer" means the seller has signed it, but remember the seller is powerless to sell the property unless the bank goes along.

So now the waiting begins. It takes the bank 3 to 4 months to decide if they will allow a short sale, and at what price they will do it. During this time the property is still listed on the MLS as "Active", since the bank has not approved the short sale yet. This is why you see listings at very low prices that have been on the market for 100 days. You're wondering "what's wrong with this property?" Nothing is wrong, it's a crazy low price on a short sale and the seller is waiting on an answer from the bank.

During this waiting time the seller is either allowing showings or not. If the seller allows showings, you can make an offer which will be considered a "backup offer". As you might imagine, in several month's time it's common for many backup offers to come in.

Once the seller has enough backup offers, he may decide that it's nutty to keep having people come through the house, since they have plenty of offers and they aren't even sure that a short sale will work. So why bother? If the seller comes to this conclusion, the listing will still be active in the MLS and yet you can't see it or make an offer on it.

Bear in mind that none of this information is stated in the listing description that you see on the Internet. You might not know that it's a short sale, or where it is in the process, all you see is a house at what looks to be a great price.

When the bank completes their own appraisals and due diligence, they will answer the seller. There might be all kinds of negotiating at this point between bank and seller, as to what the bank will accept as a loan payoff and what responsibilities the seller has. The seller might have to come up with some money or give the bank a promissory note. If the bank and the seller can't come to terms, there will not be a short sale.

But let's assume the bank and the sellers agree on what has to happen for a short sale to take place. The bank at this point will state at what price they will do a short sale. We then call this an "approved short sale" meaning that the bank has approved it. The price is probably NOT what the agent has in the listing, it's usually more and it might even be significantly more.

At this point the person who made the original offer usually walks away. The price is not what he was hoping for. The bank might then ask the agent to see the backup offers and decide to accept or send a counter offer to one of them. They might ask everyone to submit their "highest and best" offer within 24 or 48 hours. At this point the agent might put the new price into the MLS and say the short sale has been approved and generate some new offers. There are no rules to this game; it goes however the bank wants to play it. They call the shots, because without their approval, no sale will take place.

So if you're still interested 3 to 4 months after you made your offer, and if you're willing to up your offer so that it's the highest and best, then congratulations! You succeeded in purchasing a short sale property.