Lindenhurst NY Short Sales - Handle With Care!
Last week I overheard a conversation between a new agent and a seller. This new agent is very zealous which in my book is a good thing but to a point.
Short sales in the Lindenhurst NY area have been steadily around since 2005. I am finding that some are closing in 90 days or less but that is not the norm here.
I figured out what the questions were by hearing the answers this agent was giving:
"Short sales take anywhere from 2 months to 4 months to close". Really? My short sale listing has had a buyer on it for six months and counting and that is with everything going smoothly. Check the sold Lindenhurst NY short sale homes in the MLS for the past year. You will find that most take six months to 9 months to close. Some have taken a year!
"The homeowner has no say in the offer, the bank does". No, the homeowner still owns the home and under the guidance of their agent, still negotiates the offer to make sure the bank will accept the offer as well. That doesn't always happen either but the closer to market value the better.
"Most short sale homes are at least 30% below market value". Ha! Think again! A small percentage are way below market value but those are the homes that are literally ready for a bulldozer <I kid you not>. When putting a short sale home on the market it needs to be priced at market value. The bank wants us agents to report the activity level at each price point. I have a short sale right now in Lindenhurst NY where the bank called ME to reduce the price after I told them the lack of activity. I almost passed out!
"Short Sales are easy!" Yeah? Really? You've been an agent for 2 months and have 1 deal under contract? Short sales are not easy. Every negotiator is different. Every investor is different. You never know what is going to happen next even when you have all your ducks in a row. Things are going along smoothly then............BAM! You get suckered punch. How are you going to handle that? Do you know what documentation is needed for that particular bank? Every bank is different too when it comes to documentation and how to get it to them. How will you handle it when there are 2 banks on the mortgage? I shudder the thought.
We all remember being excited when we were brand new to real estate. Short sales are completely different. Please, please, do not take one on yourself . Partner up with an experienced short sale listing agent in your office. The seller is losing their home and that in of itself is very upsetting to them. Handle your seller with much care. After all, our Code Of Ethics tells us to!
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