About Port Orchard's Wildwood

We are all becoming more familiar with the Distressed housing Market. Not that the homes are distressed but it can be said that the owners are. Many of the properties show beautifully and are a great bargain...So why are they still on the market?

The easiest way to answer that question is to take a look at the process of getting an approval from the bank. It appears that it would be in the best interest of the lender to accept a sale now, even if the amount is less than owed than to go through months of negotiation and the potential of loosing a buyer only to foreclose, and submit to the process starting all over again.

• Listing property at a price that is less the amount owed to the lender

• Order a preliminary Title

• Request a HUD statement once you have an offer.

• Permission forms signed by Sellers for Agents to speak directly with the bank on their behalf.

• Have the sellers write a hardship letter ( we provide samples to follow)

• Complete the Short sale Packet and fax to the lender. Keep successful Fax confirmation. A lender may have more than one acceptable fax number...send a copy to each until successful.

• Once an offer is received make sure the other agent noted that the property is a short sale as disclosed in the MLS, and is aware of the proper forms to use for such a sale.

• Fax over the offer with the loan number on the top of every page you fax.Keep in mind there may be a second loan on the property and you must follow all of the steps for each loan.

• Call the bank for each step, and to confirm that they have the permission form. This may have to be faxed to a separate fax number than the listing paperwork or the offer. Be sure and ask which fax number is required for every step.

• Resend any and all material that the Lender says they do not have, even if you have a successful fax confirmation.

• Keep a detailed log containing the names of who you spoke with, and include the date and time. Keep detailed notes, and have them handy to refer back to especially when talking with the lender.

• The Lender will be ordering BPO (Brokers Price Opinions) and the offer will need to be within a certain percentage of that number to be accepted. Typically it is 10%.

Often when working with a short-sale you are working with many people in different departments even states. There are millions of files in their system all in differing stages of approval. Note that some files are tossed if they do not have all of the required documentation. Every Lender is unique and what has worked with one may not be the way another does the same thing. Always be courteous, follow up, never assume, and you will be successful.

Another important issue that is often overlooked is the other Agent. Keep them informed at every level.Some short sales are taking up to 120 days. Many are less. If you fail in keeping the lender informed you may have to start back at square one. Keeping the other Agent up to speed so they can relay the information to their buyers is critical.No news can be just the thing that unravels all of your hard work and causes the buyer to find a different home.