Bradenton Florida Real Estate - Dan Forbes

This series of posts is for Buyers interested in learning more about purchasing a real estate short sale. Even though I am addressing Bradenton, Florida buyers, these questions and answers will fit almost anywhere.

I am working with a lot of short sale sellers and buyers in the Bradenton - Sarasota, FL real estate market. Our Manatee County Florida area is seeing the greatest number of foreclosures in history. Surprisingly, most of my short sale listings have one or more contracts going through the process.

What Do Buyers Need to Know About
Purchasing A Short Sale Property
In Bradenton, Florida?

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Continued

Here are the questions I answered in Part I

1. Why would a Buyer consider a short sale?
2. How much can a Buyer save?
3. But I have heard that Buyers can purchase short sales for 50 to 60 percent of value. Isn't that true?
4. Are there any disadvantages to purchasing a short sale?

Here are the questions I answered in Part II

5. Why does a short sale take so long? What is the process?
6. How long does the above process take?
7. How is the listing price of the property determined?
8. Does this mean that I could offer full price and still not get the property?

Here are the questions answered in part III

9. Who exactly is the Seller, is it the owner or the lender?
10. So, do I submit my offer to the Seller or the Lender?
11. Might I be up against other competing offers on the property?
12. Must a Buyer be Pre-Approved?
13. Could the property possibly be foreclosed upon before the short sale is completed?

And, now the final questions of part IV

14. If the property is foreclosed upon will I lose my deposit?
Your purchase and sale agreement will contain language that requires your deposit to be returned to you if the sale is not consummated.

15. Can I use a financing contingency with my offer?
A financing contingency means that if your lender is unable to provide a financing commitment by a certain date then you may cancel the contract and receive your deposit back. It is possible to include a financing contingency with your offer, but it would make your offer weaker than one without such a contingency.

16. Must the property be purchased AS-IS?
Yes, short sales require the property be purchased as is. The Seller's lender will not allow the seller to credit the buyer for repairs or spend money for repairs. The Buyer may include an "AS-IS With Right to Inspect" addendum which would allow the Buyer to cancel the contract if major deficiencies were discovered.

17. What is the time frame for inspections?
The purchase and sale agreement will cover this but you should be aware of it. Normally, in our area inspections are conducted within 10 business days of an executed offer. However, with a short sale, the Buyer should be sure the inspection time frame begins AFTER the lender approves the transaction.

18. When purchasing a short sale property will the Buyer incur any extra expenses?
There are no extra expenses to the Buyer when purchasing a short sale property. The Buyers costs are, negotiated when the Buyer's offer is submitted to the Seller and then again if the Lender counter's the offer. Other than this, the costs of purchasing a short sale property are the same as any other purchase.

If you are interested in buying a short sale, pre-foreclosure home or condo in Bradenton, Florida please give me a call. If you are a homeowner who needs to talk to someone about a possible short sale on your Bradenton, FL or Manatee County property, please call for a confidential discussion.

Please click here to subscribe to my blog . See the sidebar on the right to subscribe by email.

(Copyright © 2008 By Dan Forbes, All Rights Reserved.)

Dan Forbes, PL is a licensed Broker-Associate and Certified Residential Specialist. He leads the Forbes Advantage Teamat RE/MAX Gulfstream Realty's Lakewood Ranch Office in Bradenton, Florida.

To learn more about buying a home or selling a home in the Bradenton - Sarasota Florida Real Estate market please visit Dan on the web at BradentonFloridaRealEstate.com ; TheRealEstateZoo.com; The-Short-Sale-Expert.com ; and BradentonRealEstateClub.com

Call Dan Forbes today: 941-713-5760 or toll free at 800-756-3068.

This series of posts is for Buyers interested in learning more about purchasing a real estate short sale. Even though I am addressing Bradenton, Florida buyers, these questions and answers will fit almost anywhere.

I am working with a lot of short sale sellers and buyers in the Bradenton - Sarasota, FL real estate market. Our Manatee County Florida area is seeing the greatest number of foreclosures in history. Surprisingly, most of my short sale listings have one or more contracts going through the process.

What Do Buyers Need to Know About
Purchasing A Short Sale Property
In Bradenton, Florida?

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Continued

Here are the questions I answered in Part I

1. Why would a Buyer consider a short sale?
2. How much can a Buyer save?
3. But I have heard that Buyers can purchase short sales for 50 to 60 percent of value. Isn't that true?
4. Are there any disadvantages to purchasing a short sale?

Here are the questions I answered in Part II

5. Why does a short sale take so long? What is the process?
6. How long does the above process take?
7. How is the listing price of the property determined?
8. Does this mean that I could offer full price and still not get the property?

And now, part III

9. Who exactly is the Seller, is it the owner or the lender?
The Seller is the owner of the property as in any other transaction. The lender is involved in the transaction because the sale is subject to the lenders approval. The lender must approve the deal because the lender must accept a "short pay" on the mortgage for the deal to work. Without the lender's cooperation there is no deal.

10. So, do I submit my offer to the Seller or the Lender?
Your offer is submitted to the Seller who in turn may accept it, reject it, or counter it. It is then forwarded to the lender who also may in turn accept it, reject it, or counter it.

11. Might I be up against other competing offers on the property?
It is possible that other offers could be accepted by the Seller as back-up contracts. Some lenders will only deal with one offer at a time which is in your best interest. Other lenders will want to know about all offers and will consider the merits of each offer. Being the first Buyer to have an executed offer with the Seller does not guarantee that your offer is the one the lender will negotiate.

12. Must a Buyer be Pre-Approved?
I recommend that Sellers only entertain offers from Buyers who are Pre-Approved for financing or who have the cash on-hand. Most shorted lenders will require the same. Your Pre-Approval letter will be submitted with the offer. Being simply Pre-Qualified is not recommended.

13. Could the property possibly be foreclosed upon before the short sale is completed?
Yes, this is a possibility. While the Seller is going down the short sale path, the lender is proceeding with the foreclosure process if the Borrower (Seller) is in default. The foreclosure process can take anywhere from 4 months to a year, so it is very likely that a short sale could be accomplished within that time frame. However, pursuing a short sale is not a guarantee that the foreclosure won't happen.

If you are interested in buying a short sale, pre-foreclosure home or condo in Bradenton, Florida please give me a call. If you are a homeowner who needs to talk to someone about a possible short sale on your Bradenton, FL or Manatee County property, please call for a confidential discussion.

Please click here to subscribe to my blog . See the sidebar on the right to subscribe by email.

(Copyright © 2008 By Dan Forbes, All Rights Reserved.)

Dan Forbes, PL is a licensed Broker-Associate and Certified Residential Specialist. He leads the Forbes Advantage Teamat RE/MAX Gulfstream Realty's Lakewood Ranch Office in Bradenton, Florida.

To learn more about buying a home or selling a home in the Bradenton - Sarasota Florida Real Estate market please visit Dan on the web at BradentonFloridaRealEstate.com ; TheRealEstateZoo.com; The-Short-Sale-Expert.com ; and BradentonRealEstateClub.com

Call Dan Forbes today: 941-713-5760 or toll free at 800-756-3068.

This series of posts is for Buyers interested in learning more about purchasing a real estate short sale. Even though I am addressing Bradenton, Florida buyers, these questions and answers will fit almost anywhere.

I am working with a lot of short sale sellers and buyers in the Bradenton - Sarasota, FL real estate market. Our Manatee County Florida area is seeing the greatest number of foreclosures in history. Surprisingly, most of my short sale listings have one or more contracts going through the process.

What Do Buyers Need to Know About
Purchasing A Short Sale Property
In Bradenton, Florida?

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Continued

Here are the questions I answered in Part I

1. Why would a Buyer consider a short sale?
2. How much can a Buyer save?
3. But I have heard that Buyers can purchase short sales for 50 to 60 percent of value. Isn't that true?
4. Are there any disadvantages to purchasing a short sale?

and now, to continue....

5. Why does a short sale take so long? What is the process?
Here is a brief overview of the process. First, the seller must list the property with a Realtor. This is required by most lenders. Second, a buyer must be found and a contract executed between the Seller and the Buyer. Third, the sale and purchase agreement along with the seller's financial information is sent to the lender for review (this is called the short sale package.) Fourth, the lender orders a Broker's Price Opinion on the property. Fifth, once conducted, received, and reviewed, the file is assigned to a Loss Mitigation Specialist. Sixth, the LMS accepts, rejects, or counters the Buyer's offer on the property. Seventh, the negotiation continues until it either all comes together or else falls apart. Eighth, if all parties reach agreement the closing date is set, usually for about three weeks away.

6. How long does the above process take?
Once a purchase and sale agreement is executed between the Seller and the Buyer the whole process may take anywhere from 3-6 months. In today's market a Buyer can expect a response to their offer from the lender anywhere from 2-3 months, maybe longer.

7. How is the listing price of the property determined?
The list price is determined by the listing agent. As a Broker-associate who lists and sells a lot of short sales I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the list price. Some listing agents will price a home too low, hoping to create a bidding war between buyers. Low offers simply are doomed to be rejected by the lender. Other agents may price the home too high and no offers are received before it is too late to save the owner from foreclosure. The key is to price the home competitively in order to attract excited buyers, and yet not so low as to fail to get the transaction approved. The listing agent must be very skillful in pricing.

8. Does this mean that I could offer full price and still not get the property?
Exactly right. If the listing agent prices the home too low a buyer could easily waste three months simply waiting for a rejection.

If you are interested in buying a short sale, pre-foreclosure home or condo in Bradenton, Florida please give me a call. If you are a homeowner who needs to talk to someone about a possible short sale on your Bradenton, FL or Manatee County property, please call for a confidential discussion.

Please click here to subscribe to my blog . See the sidebar on the right to subscribe by email.

(Copyright © 2008 By Dan Forbes, All Rights Reserved.)

Dan Forbes, PL is a licensed Broker-Associate and Certified Residential Specialist. He leads the Forbes Advantage Teamat RE/MAX Gulfstream Realty's Lakewood Ranch Office in Bradenton, Florida.

To learn more about buying a home or selling a home in the Bradenton - Sarasota Florida Real Estate market please visit Dan on the web at BradentonFloridaRealEstate.com ; TheRealEstateZoo.com; The-Short-Sale-Expert.com ; and BradentonRealEstateClub.com

Call Dan Forbes today: 941-713-5760 or toll free at 800-756-3068.

Our Bradenton, Florida housing market has been reeling from a massive slowdown and price depreciation of over 30% since the high of 2005. Please see my previous post for the Single-Family Home Market Conditions. This post is about the Condo Market and some good news.

There is Some Good News to Report in the Bradenton, FL Condo Market

• Total Inventory is Decreasing. Total number of condos for sale is about 9% lower than this time last year.
• Sales are Increasing. Sales are up 40% over last month. Obvious, this is a good sign as well.
• Days on Market are Decreasing. This is another positive sign.
• Median Sales Price Has Become Affordable. Our median sales price of $149,000 is over $88,000 lower than it was in 2005. This is a decline of 37%.

Please click here to subscribe to my blog . See the sidebar on the right to subscribe by email.

(Copyright © 2008 By Dan Forbes, All Rights Reserved.)

Dan Forbes, PL is a licensed Broker-Associate and Certified Residential Specialist. He leads the Forbes Advantage Teamat RE/MAX Gulfstream Realty's Lakewood Ranch Office in Bradenton, Florida.

To learn more about buying a home or selling a home in the Bradenton - Sarasota Florida Real Estate market please visit Dan on the web at BradentonFloridaRealEstate.com ; TheRealEstateZoo.com; The-Short-Sale-Expert.com ; and BradentonRealEstateClub.com

Call Dan Forbes today: 941-713-5760 or toll free at 800-756-3068.