I wrote last week about how the market inventory is shrinking, and that an increasing number of homes are short sales.
Ironically, the average days that a house sits on the market is actually going down dramatically this year. See the graph below.
That tells you that people are making offers faster and short selling banks are getting answers quicker than last year.
If you are thinking to short sell, now is the best time since the crash started.
I want to tell you how I work to get them closed. If you’ve been thinking to short sell, the following could save you some greenbacks.
Many agents work with large law firms that charge you a huge retainer to represent you to the bank short selling the property. In my experience, these firms are not necessarily any faster at getting them closed. In fact I represented buyers who waited 4 months for the firm’s negotiator to get an agreement letter from a bank, only to find that they lost the agreement letter for a month. The deal fell apart due to this.
I’m sure most attorneys are working hard. But I think some are taking on too many clients, or are promising too much.
Here is how I work.
First, if you are thinking to short sell, I refer you to the Law Offices of Roberta Voss (602-697-0730). She won’t represent you as a negotiator to the bank. But she will sit with you for a reasonable fee and make certain you understand the short sale process from the legal perspective. (Whatever you do, don’t skip that talk with an attorney.)
Second, I work directly with either Old Republic Title or Chicago Title, both of whom have dedicated short sale teams that communicate with the bank directly. Why is this such a big deal? Well, because, first, they charge you nothing, zilch, nada! Second, because they are on the phones with the banks all the time, they can get heard above the din.
Third, I use social networks, text networks, QR codes and mobile websites to make certain everybody sees your home.
There is a lot to think about with short sales. If you are thinking to take this step, please give me a call first at 602-456-9388.
