The terms Distressed Sales or Distressed Properties are often used to describe houses facing various stages of foreclosure.
Usually, such houses are sold at steeply discounted prices, and because they are, they have a damaging effect on the market value of all the other homes in a given neighborhood or community.
The following ‘distressed’ properties have recently been sold as REOs or Short Sales.
|
Street
|
Date Sold
|
List Price
|
Sale Price
|
Beds
|
Baths
|
Sq Ft
|
Pool
|
|
HEIRLOOM ROSE
|
6/17/2009
|
$450,000
|
$405,000
|
5
|
4
|
4319
|
N
|
|
SPRING HEATHER
|
6/12/2009
|
$205,000
|
$186,000
|
4
|
2
|
1917
|
N
|
|
SEGO PALM
|
5/28/2009
|
$275,000
|
$276,000
|
3
|
3
|
2574
|
N
|
|
FREESIA
|
5/7/2009
|
$294,000
|
$230,000
|
4
|
3
|
2693
|
N
|
|
HEIRLOOM ROSE
|
4/22/2009
|
$297,500
|
$294,000
|
4
|
3
|
2954
|
N
|
|
HEIRLOOM ROSE
|
4/20/2009
|
$166,250
|
$170,000
|
4
|
2
|
1941
|
N
|
|
RUSTIC OAK
|
4/17/2009
|
$330,000
|
$330,000
|
4
|
3
|
3146
|
N
|
|
TWIN LEAF
|
4/14/2009
|
$299,200
|
$299,200
|
5
|
3
|
3006
|
N
|
|
GERBER DAISY
|
4/8/2009
|
$235,000
|
$220,000
|
5
|
3
|
2639
|
N
|
|
GREENBROOK
|
4/8/2009
|
$153,000
|
$153,000
|
3
|
2
|
1455
|
N
|
|
HEIRLOOM ROSE
|
4/1/2009
|
$260,000
|
$230,000
|
4
|
2
|
2117
|
Y
|
|
SWEETSPIRE
|
3/27/2009
|
$193,900
|
$186,400
|
4
|
2
|
1916
|
N
|
|
FOLIAGE OAK
|
3/27/2009
|
$325,000
|
$325,000
|
4
|
3
|
2808
|
N
|
|
SHADOW PINE
|
3/26/2009
|
$164,900
|
$164,900
|
4
|
2
|
1932
|
N
|
|
CANAL CROSS
|
3/26/2009
|
$184,500
|
$180,000
|
3
|
2
|
1710
|
N
|
Properties have been listed and sold by various MLS members. Data drawn from the Mid-Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service. This report is valuable for estimating current market values in the designated community or subdivision.
‘REO’ stands for Real Estate Owned. REOs are properties that have already been foreclosed and are now owned by the bank.
A Short Sale is a property where the original purchaser of the house still has legal ownership but may be in foreclosure (final judgment rendered), pre-foreclosure (served with notice to foreclose), pre-foreclosure (delinquent on mortgage payments), or pre-pre-foreclosure (will soon default unless the house is sold soon).
What is a Short Sale?
A Short Sale occurs when market conditions make it impossible to sell a house at a price that allows the borrower to pay off the mortgage loan and associated closing costs in full. In these cases, the mortgage lender must agree to Short Sale terms before a house can be sold. Why? Because the payback of the loan will be ‘shorted’ a significant amount and the lender will be forced to take a loss.
Understanding How a Short Sale Can Often Help
Mortgage lenders must cooperate with borrowers in order to facilitate a Short Sale. Doing so helps them avoid the even higher costs associated with foreclosure proceedings.
Selling a house as a Short Sale can be complicated and time-consuming. The same proof of financial condition submitted when the homeowners first took out their home loan must be submitted anew in order to successfully settle the loan under Short Sale conditions. Lenders must evaluate each Short Sale on a case-by-case basis, and the approval process can often be long and frustrating ... or sometimes short and sweet.
Once a purchase contract is being considered for a Short Sale, foreclosure proceedings, if there are any, can usually be put on hold.
In order to approve a Short Sale, lenders take into account several factors, among them the borrowers’ personal and financial situation, local real estate conditions, the market value of the house, and the strength of the purchase contract. Borrowers must also make a convincing argument that they —
- Cannot keep up with loan payments due to unemployment, job relocation, divorce, medical expenses, or other long-term financial crisis
- Have no choice but to sell their house
- Can’t repay the loan in full given current market values
The Process of a Short Sale
Homeowners must jump through a few extra hoops, but these extra tasks are no more difficult than the process they originally went through to purchase their house.
- Put House on the Market - Because the borrower’s lender must validate that the house was marketed and contracted at arm’s length, a homeowner cannot sell the house on his own but must list it with a real estate broker.
- Short Sale Package - Once a Sale & Purchase Contract is finalized, homeowners must assemble personal financial information that will be submitted to their lender in support of making a Short Sale claim.
- Selling & Marketing Package - Your real estate agent should put together a Market Report reflecting the selling circumstances of the house as well as the real estate conditions of the neighborhood and town.
- Lender Approval - After the lender has received everything, they will order a Broker’s Price Opinion, which is an independent determination of the house’s market value. Then, after evaluating everything, the bank will make a decision.
As difficult as a Short Sale may be, it’s important for homeowners to be prepared for anything and to proactively deal with any problems that come along. It’s also important for them to contact an attorney and/or tax accountant to give them consul and aid in the Short Sale process.
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