Short Sales in Placer County (Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Loomis, Auburn...)

It looks like short sales are here to stay.......for a long time. I've been writing about the downturn for quite some time now, and I predicted the wave of foreclosures would be a lot worse than the so called experts were saying. Hey it's not rocket science. I looked at declining home values and rising ARMs and figured "Duh", people aren't going to be able to afford the new payments or refinance. Anyway, I will get off the soapbox now, but I told ya so.

So, what about short sales? At first lenders were very hard to deal with. They were still in 2004 lala land and thought, na we'll just foreclose and make money when we sell it. I can tell you they don't think that way any longer! I've been getting my short sale packages approved in less than 2 weeks on most occasions. There aren't any special "tricks" to get the deal approved. Here are some basic tips:

1. Homeowner has to have a legitimate hardship. If you just "want out of the house" but you've got the means, don't waste your time - that short sale is not getting approved.

2. You have to show the lender a lot of data - comps, trends, crime rates, lots of pictures.

3. In addition, I have created an excel spreadsheet that breaks down the costs to foreclose on the property vs. approving the short sale. Since I have worked with banks on REOs before, they tend to listen to me when I break down the spreadsheet.

4. You have to make your package complete and professional. Sending in a hodge podge of documents shows you don't have a clue what you're doing.

5. The offer - don't waste your time sending anything until you have an offer (with the exception being an authorization to communicate with the lender from the seller). Ask the lender what they want in the package, put it together professionally and add the offer to it just prior to sending it off.

6. Most lenders will require the home listed on the MLS. Price it to sell fast, you don't have time to play the market if the owner is in default.

7. Always contact the lender before the package is complete to let them know you are attempting a short sale. Do this the day of the listing. If you can show a history of working with the lender they will most likely give you more time to postpone the Trustee Sale in order to find a buyer.

8. Loss mitigation departments LOVE to lose paperwork. They will claim they don't have the package or that you never sent it. Follow up with them the day after you fax the documents to verify they have received them, and notate this in a conversation log.