Approved Short Sales

When you’re browsing through your MLS Listings, don’t fall victim to the “approved” short sale hype. In this article, I will feature one very important aspect of purchasing these types of homes that will help you determine if a particular home is worth pursuing. I’ve seen home listings on MLS that say “approved short sale” for three, four, even six months…they don’t stay “approved” for that long.In order to capitalize on a property that is being sold for less than what the owner owes to his/her respective bank(s), you must cut through all the “smoke and mirrors” in order to make it happen. As a real estate agent, many times I will come across listings that say “approved short sale” and buyers will inquire about these properties. An approved short sale is when an agent, owner and/or attorney has submitted some form of contract or purchase binder to the owners bank for approval.Now one thing to keep in mind is, short sales are extremely complex transactions involving multiple investors and many levels of approval, not to mention, issues with the home itself. Issues like certificates of occupancy, surveys, title, and mainly, the sellers ability to fully cooperate in a timely fashion. So an “approval” is all relative to many items.That piece of information is important in and of itself. Basically just having the knowledge of all the different variables/obstacles can make the difference between wasting your time and being able to move on from something because it’s just too messy.But I promised one piece of information that will be helpful for you when evaluating an “approved” short sale listing.When talking with the agent, if you simply ask them when the short sale was approved and what happened to the deal that feel apart, this will absolutely get you valuable information. Now, of course, if you don’t know what the agent is talking about, that’s where a professional real estate agent can help.But I’m feeling extra nice right now, so I’ll give you one thing to listen for…the time. How long has it been “approved”? That’s very important in determining how successful the outcome may be. Remember there are several layers of challenges to overcome in order to get one of these types of transactions completed (sold).I cannot stress to you enough though, that there are multiple questions to get the right information and to build a complete picture. If you don’t do that, you stand the risk of getting involved in something that will suck up a lot of your valuable time. Seeking the services of a professional that understands the short sale business is paramount.I wish you happy home hunting…