Short Sales have Become Like an Outfit Never Worn...Return for Full Refund!

The Home of their dreams? Maybe...Maybe not!

Tonight I had yet another short sale fall out of escrow. It was a very short 2 day escrow after a very long 8 month waiting period for bank approval. Frustrating? You bet. We all know the time spent on research, the hours spent with buyers, and the money spent on gas to find the perfect home for our clients.

It's proving more and more, that short sales do not end up being "the perfect home," and I don't blame the buyers at all. It's probably a lot like buying a new outfit. At first, it's the most perfect fit, color and style. It makes you feel like a new person. But you’re not allowed to wear it for 8 months. You look at it in your closet, and as time goes by, the color isn’t in fashion this season. Maybe you’ve lost 10 pounds and something else might really look fabulous on your new figure. The dust settles, the tag is still on the outfit. If you’re lucky, the store where you made the purchase takes returns after 8 months. Time to buy a new outfit!

That’s how it is for our buyers in this short sale market. Since my buyers entered into contract in August, much has changed. The husband is working out of the country more and more. The wife just got pregnant with another child. Life changes in 8 months! I can absolutely see their perspective.

So how do we, as agents, keep our buyers focused and excited? We can try opening escrow and cashing the check so the buyers feel they’ve made a commitment. We can have them do their home inspections so they feel vested in the house. That's like wearing a new outfit but discreetly tucking in the tag so it could be returned if it didn't feel right.

Other than that, I really don’t know other options.

Most people, the vast majority, in fact, are not patient. Really, it’s human nature. When I decide to buy something, I want it within a timeframe. With short sales, we can only guess. This makes buyers feel stressed. Of course it does. They say buying a home is one of the most stressful times in people’s lives. With moving, people have a tremendous amount of responsibilities and organizing to do, such as job transfers, making arrangements for the children’s school, etc. As agents, we try to minimize their stress as much as we can. That’s why we get paid well when we do our job right. The inability in our market to quote a reasonable time frame is crazy making! And it’s not the buyer’s fault!

My partner and I have another set of clients who have entered escrow on a home they absolutely fell in love with after months of looking. They promised this was the home of their dreams and the long wait would not be an issue. Three days into escrow (we insisted escrow be opened) they say they have a renter for their existing home and they need to be out in 25 days. They asked if we could speed up the process. What! 25 days? Suddenly the home of their dreams has become a nightmare…and it’s not really their fault!

In our area, buyers are being rewarded for a lack of commitment because the prices on homes keep falling. They continue to peruse the internet every night even though they are in contract! I know, because I have lead capturing on my website! Oddly enough, I notice they are always looking in the dead of the night! Perhaps they think no one will find out until they make that dreaded call saying they are canceling their current short sale escrow. In their minds, they should keep on looking. There might be a better deal out there!

Especially since they have no real timeframe and they are told the bank may not even agree to the short sale!

I don’t blame the buyers at all. I blame the inability of the banking system to expedite short sales. What will it take? Is there anything we, as agents, can do to help? I have taken numerous short sale classes and doing another class this Friday for SFR certification. I know how to submit an unbelievably efficient short sale package. In fact, I’ve closed several this past year. It’s not getting easier, not at all. They say the banks are getting more efficient in expediting the process, but that’s not what most of us are experiencing.

I would like to urge us all to help our buyers by helping with legislation that might ease the drudge of the short sale process and reward our buyers by getting the job done before their dream dies.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Sandy Peckinpah

www.LaCrestaExclusiveProperties.com