Short Sales Getting Quicker

Hello Neighbors,

I think the lenders are starting to figure it out.

Last year (2007) we went for over 7 months "working" with one lender to get approval on one short sale. That lender (Wells Fargo) simply didn't have the process in place or expertise in their "asset manager" teams to handle Short Sales. When they did finally get back to us, they rejected our offer!

Put yourselves in the shoes of that Buyer. Would you have stuck around? Probably not - and neither did that Buyer.

Lenders can't do business this way. They need to figure out how to handle these "assets" (homes) quickly and efficiently.

Logically, it would seem like holding these assets is bad news for a lender or bank - and you are right! Financially, it isn't a good place to be if you are a bank. You aren't in the business of property management, and you should do everything in your power to sell these homes.

Well, logic need not apply.... in fact, forget logic completely. Lenders and banks aren't like you and me. Selling a home appears to be a 9 to 5 job for them, not an urgent situation that requires diligence and focus to get it done. Forget timelines too, as they ignore most offer contract timelines as they don't align with the paper pusher 9 to 5 timeline.

...However, that is changing. The last few short sales we offered on have had quick response times. In fact, we've had several that have been resolved within a week. That's great news. The pace of these transactions is picking up. A few of the Lender's real estate agents have even shared the lender's financial requirements (minimum net requirements) to get the houses sold. THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE! Give us the information, give it quickly, and we will make it work. Families will get the housing they need, and Lenders will move back into the business they should be in!

Let's hope this trend continues.

Another important note: The smaller banks and Lenders (credit unions, local banks, regional banks) appear to be better at Short Sales than the big guys. Perhaps they have more to loose if they drag their feet? I'm not sure what it is, but our transactions that involve the big guys (see the Wells Fargo example above) are still going at a slower rate than the small lenders.

Watch this space for more real world updates,

- Jim