In a recent article, we discussed why a short sale might be a better option than simply walking away from your home and letting it go via foreclosure or a trustee’s sale. For the reasons stated in that article, we still believe that a short sale – though requiring a little more work on the borrower’s part – is a much better option than a foreclosure.
WHY SHORT SALE NOW?
In the past month or so, we have listed for our clients five median-priced homes in the East Valley. Within two days after listing the properties on the MLS, we received multiple offers at or above list price for four of these short sale listings. With this anecdotal evidence along with recent new reports, most of the Phoenix-area appears to be a seller’s market. Thus, right now is a great time to short sale.
Even though a borrower will not receive any proceeds from a short sale, it is a good time to short sale since market conditions and other factors have really sped up the process. With buyers clamoring for median-priced homes, getting a property under contract with multiple back-up offers has become much easier. Thus, agents and brokers are able to submit short sale packets to lenders and get short sale approvals quicker and more efficiently.
Also, most lenders in this process have worked out a lot of their internal kinks and have done a fairly good job of streamlining the review and approval process. For example, some lenders have started using the online portal Equator.com to process their short sales. Through this website, an agent or broker representing a borrower can upload all of the documents the lenders require and the agent or broker can communicate directly and more effectively with the bank negotiators.
Finally, following a recent settlement with multiple state attorneys general, many of the largest loan servicers have agreed to abide by more strict short sale timelines (read the article here). With this settlement agreement, these larger loan servicers are required to give a decision to a borrower within 30 days of receiving a completed short sale request package.
All of the above make it a good time to short sale your home as the process has become much less cumbersome. If you are trying to decide if a short sale is right for you or if you find yourself in a situation where you need to sell your home but your home is underwater, call us to set up a consultation. For a low consultation fee, we will answer all of your questions and point you in the right direction to accomplish your goals with absolute peace of mind.