How to buy a short sale in Ventura County

If you have been looking at purchasing a home lately, you have certainly come across a few homes with a Sale Contingency referred to as a "Short Sale." 

So what exactly is a Short Sale?

When a home owner has fallen behind on their mortgage payments a Lender might agree to a Short Sale. This means that the lender is willing to accept less than what the homeowner owes on the loan.

But how much less?

The amount that each lender will agree to on a short sale property depends on several factors including: the lending institute, the amount of loan, and the current defaulted amount. Sometimes it makes more financial sense for the lender to let the property go into foreclosure!!!!!

There are currently 4483 homes on the market in all of Ventura County and among these 1175 are Short Sales. The listed price of short sale homes is normally below the market value of other homes on the market.

Placing an offer on a short sale home can be an art in itself. You will need an experienced Realtor® to help and guide you at the time you are ready to make an offer. One thing that you'll need to remember is that in a short sale, even if the home seller accepts your offer, the lender has the last say.

I have not yet represented a seller in a short sale, however, I have assisted a few Ventura County buyers in the purchase of short sale homes. I have also, seen a few home buyers lose their bid on short sale homes to another home buyer.

Let's say for the sake of the argument that you have just toured the home of your dreams and have fallen head over hills in love with this home. Yes, this is the home you have been searching for and the best part is that the price is right. You are ready to place an offer on the place you would like to call home. But, we are always trying to get a bargain no matter how ideal the listed price.

If this is really the home you have been dreaming about, what I tell my home buyers is to offer the home owner and the lender their asking price.

The home owner will most likely accept your offer and send your offer to the lender. As the lender studies your offer, it is likely that other offers will come in on the home you want to own so bad. However, if your offer is at the asking price the only way you can get bumped is if someone comes in with an offer higher than the asking price or someone at the asking price with a better down payment.  If you want to avoid this scenario, your original offer should be a bit higher than the asking price (if it makes financial sense to you).

This strategy will most likely guarantee you the home. The lenders do take their time (usually 4-6 weeks) to get back to you on your offer. But, if you have made the highest offer, you are on the way to own the home of your dreams.

Making an offer on a short sale home is very much like an auction. You just have to be the highest bidder and hope that no one outbids you.