Short Sales (Omaha, NE): When Will They Ever Learn to Speed it Up?

It is shocking...APPALLING, how insanely slow the short sale process is. I just had buyers write up a stellar offer, one that honestly, I didn't really even condone because they wrote it for more than the home sold for in 2008 (of course they were asking for thousands in closing costs, but still)...They were going against another offer, really wanted the house, so chose to write a pretty amazing offer...

Let's take a step back and explain what a "short sale" is: The seller owes more on the home than the home can be sold for due to market conditions, so they ask the bank to eat the difference because the seller is broke. This definitely will ding the seller's credit for future credit needs, but everyone gets out with the least cost

We waited 3 weeks with absolutely no word. I obviously know how this process works and that most people can wait as long as 3 months to even hear a single thing on where their offer stands, which naturally I always let the buyer know about this little caveat. Short sales are great in theory, to avoid the dreaded foreclosure, but very few buyers have the patience to wait that long, in limbo, about where they are moving, whether they should be planning on it...It's just not easy on a person to withstand. (Are you listening bank executives, the process has a serious, fatal flaw!)

For any buyer I am first taking out, I always explain short sales to them so they can decide if we should even bother looking at them. Most of the time, the buyers opt out because of the time issue. Short sales do offer the allure of being (usually) a great deal, so there is some incentive there...But time is money, and if the deal isn't going to go through, the buyer doesn't want to lose out on the opportunity that another "great deal" of a home is passing them by. Days, weeks, and months of waiting usually breaks the person. There are some really great deals in homes that aren't short sales, which is exactly what my buyer found, rescinded their offer, and now will get the exact same home for less, without the hassle. I feel better for my clients. They are happier all around.

This particular mortgage was held by Citibank. I am always shocked over and over that the banks have not streamlined this process to allow for a timely transaction. I can understand giving them a week, even two, but months is really too long. For as many times Citibank or any bank has to go through this, you would have thought they would have figured out a better system! The issue of short sales has been exacerbated by the recession and crash, but there are always short sales in any market, so this is not some new ballgame they are trying to figure out.

It is best for everyone, the bank, the seller, the buyer to buy the home through a short sale rather than foreclosure...So come on bankers, let's figure out a way we can allow a buyer to buy, a seller to sell, and the bank to cut their losses, where everyone wins.

Short sales in my opinion are far better for the bank because...

They usually sell the home for more. The seller is still living in it, taking care of it, so the cost alone of the home still being in good shape is paramount. Anyone that has been around for a while has seen one too many foreclosures that have their pipes burst from not being "winterized" in a timely manner from when the property is vacated, here in Nebraska where we have very harsh, drastic changes in weather...

Mold then flourishes, smells, damaged interiors all result...If the water penetrates the foundation then we have a structural issue. And oh the smell of mold... Its a smell imprinted on my brain. They all smell the same, those foreclosures. I get the great joy of being reminded of its true potency every time a happy, jolly, naive buyers takes a peek through a foreclosed home and shudders as they step through the entrance.

Short sales are such a great idea to cut the banks losses, retain some dignity of the property, give the buyer a good deal, relieve the seller from the burden of their home...Except the process is fatally flawed to allow for a smooth transaction. What is taking the banks so long to figure out that their system needs revamping???

Just another rant on real estate provided by your local Omaha stellar, amazing, beautiful, hilarious, confident, top notch, real estate agent.. (no stop, now I'm blushing...oh wait, I'm writing it ; )

Colleen Lang Woodward

REMAX The Producers

www.ColleenWoodward.com