Chris and Kim Knox

Oregon Bank Short Sale

A bank short sale is when the Seller of the home is currently in default on the mortgage and is at risk of getting foreclosed on by the lender. The Seller is essentially asking the Lender to take less than what is owed to avoid having to foreclose and take the home back. It is costly for lenders to foreclose on a defaulting borrower so banks have been willing to work with Seller's that are defaulting on a loan that can prove they are in financial distress.

The idea is that the Seller is trying to do everything to help the bank avoid taking a larger loss than needed. Banks appreciate this attitude and have grown more accustomed to dealing with this type of situation since the market has been in a decline.

The banks take their sweet time responding to offers and make it a pretty uncomfortable position for a buyer. The wait can last up to 5 months for a response on any offers. This amount of time is taken because the bank has to go through a series of steps to agree to take a loss on a property. I won't go into the details but just touch base on the process.

The bank (generally) does not start the process until the Seller has at least one offer to consider. They first review the Seller's financial situation to see if they are really in financial distress. The financial information goes through review and approval.

Once the bank decides they will complete a short sale, they hire one, or many independent contractors to complete BPO's(broker price opinion) or a full appraisal. They want independent contractors to tell them the approximate market value of a home so they can take the best action for that situation. Remember that the banks are generally outside of the market area and would otherwise have no concrete idea of the current market value.

At that point, they look at the offer(s) that are in. They look at the net proceeds and determine which sale will result in less of a loss and determine whether any loss is necessary. Certainly, if the bank determines that the market value would actually allow for a profit and a short sale not needed, they would likely just foreclose on the property and put it on the market themselves.

The entire process is generally based on priority. Priority is given to those that are about to go to auction. If the auction date is creeping up, then that sale gets moved up in the priority ranking. Because so many short sales are being considered the process is extremely time consuming. A bank may chose to delay the auction date to accomidate a short sale, they may opt not to.

No guarantees. As a buyer, you could wait 5 months to be told NO. You can imagine how upsetting that can be.

Bank short sales are very tricky and can cause a lot of grief and wasted time. If a bank short sale is listed on the market, it may not be at a feasible price. If they are priced WAY below market, it can be assumed that a bank will reject it. However, you still have to wait out those months to get a rejection. That makes it CRUCIAL to have a realtor working for you that can help you determine if your offer, the listing price, or the circumstance would be worth your time.

If you are looking for a list of short sales in Jackson and Josephine Counties, click on the blow link for a complete report. http://www.landlinerealestate.com/REOs__Short_Sales/page_2128927.html

If you have questions about buying a short sale, or selling a short sale, please don't hesitate to contact Chris and I, we are happy to help.

Lets talk about foreclosures. Also knows as Bank Owned, an d REO(Real Estate Owned) sales.

I tell clients that are purchasing foreclosures that it is more tricky than a conventional sale, but it can be financially worth it, so many people push through some of the unique challenges in foreclosures to enable an attractive purchase.

You absolutely must be preapproved to write an offer on a bank owned foreclosure. If you are paying cash, the bank will require proof of funds before they will even review the offer. It is incredibly important that you are working with a capable and knowledgable lender. I cannot stress how crucial your lender is in getting your sale closed.

Some banks require that a home be on a market for 2-3 days before they will review offers. They do this because it allows for more competition, but it also minimizes the risk of the listing agent selling the home before it goes through MLS. This allows for buyers to work with the Realtor of their choice!

Listen to your Realtor. If you are not sure your Realtor is qualified to give you solid advice, work with a different Realtor! This is a huge investment. A good Realtor can not only help you determine a good value, but they can help you determine your best sales type, your best location for purchase, and prepare you for bank requirements so you are in the best position to get your offers accepted.

Be prepared to handle the small stuff. If you want a bank to make repairs for you, your going to have limited success. If something may hinder the home from being financed, the bank may consider making the necessary repairs. Your Lender and Realtor can help you figure out if a home will work with a particular financing type. This will save you time, heartache, and money!

Your Realtor can also provide a list of foreclosure homes that are active on the market. Our MLS does not make the fact that a home is a foreclosure public knowledge. However, we have additional functionality to search only bank owned homes. http://www.landlinerealestate.com/REOs__Short_Sales/page_2128927.html

The link above will take you to the free list of foreclosures on my site. This report includes both Jackson and Josephine County foreclosures.

If you want to buy a foreclosure, it is imperative that your Realtor pay full time attention to the market. They need to be watching the MLS for you, so when your perfect purchase hits the market, you know about it quickly!

If you have questions about buying foreclosures, we are happy to help.

Short Sale Report

I have just searched and posted all short sale listings in Jackson and Josehine Counties, in Southern Oregon.

Get your free report at http://www.landlinerealestate.com/REOs__Short_Sales/page_2128927.html

We have just posted an updated list of Jackson and Josephine County Bank Owned Foreclosures through August 18th 2009.

http://www.landlinerealestate.com/REOs__Short_Sales/page_2128927.html

Today, there are 194 total residential foreclosure listings in Southern Oregon.

We also have a large invenorty of our REO featured listings.

http://www.landlinerealestate.com/Featured_Listings/page_1770459.html