Short Sales Are Anything But Short
June 20th, 2008 categories: Home Buyers
One of my clients asked me the best question yesterday:
“Why are they (short sales) called short sales when it takes forever to buy them? They’re anything but short.”
I explained that the term “short sale” referred not to length of time it takes to buy the home, but to the fact that the seller owes a bank more money than they can hope to sell it for. Therefore, the seller is “short” what they owe the bank and the bank must approve the sale.
A short sale takes longer than a regular sale between two parties because there are actually three parties involved: the buyer; the seller; and the bank. The seller must agree to an offer but so must the bank and this is what takes a longer time - adding anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months to the transaction time.
And, the transaction can be drawn out even longer if the seller isn’t working with a short sale specialist, isn’t responsive to the bank or the bank doesn’t approve the offer and the buyer wants to negotiate.
For more on short sales:
Short Sale - What Home Buyers Should Know
It’s true they may not be short, but when they are approved it can be a really great deal for all parties. They will be common place for the next 5 years.
[…] Short Sales Are Anything But Short […]
[…] you are specifically looking for a short sale or looking to avoid one (Read Short Sales Are Anything But Short), then your real estate agent will now be able to tailor your home search […]