Central Florida Short Sales

A short sale is a property that is worth less than what is owed against the property, so it is being sold for less money than the mortgage or liens that encumber the property.

While the bank does NOT own the property, the bank or mortgage lender must approve the sale…since they are going to accept a “short” payoff. (It is like if you let someone borrow $1000 dollars and later agreed to only take $800 as full settlement for the money owed).

The only thing “short” about the short sale is the name… Short sales usually take 2-6 months to get a response from the lender…and then it is not unusual that the bank will want more money than your offer, more money than the full list price and sometimes even more money than the appraised value of the property.

The bank does not set the asking price, or approve a sales price before receiving an offer, so what the listing agent sets as a price is just a “guess”. The bank will control all the terms and conditions of the sale and they might even ask the seller to bring money to closing or sign a promissory note for the deficiency…anything is possible. It is also possible that the bank will never respond to your offer.

Here are some other common problems with short sales:

• the property may go into foreclosure while you wait for a response
• the bank may agree to terms and then change their mind
• the seller may not agree to the bank terms
• the seller may become uncooperative and file bankruptcy

Short sales are not for home buyers that need a house now, or those that are on a tight budget, or those that like to plan things in advance…it is for home buyers that have the time to gamble on possibly getting a nice house at a discounted price.

We are experienced at helping home buyers buy short sales, so for more information and some real life examples of actual short sale transactions, please go to page 21 in our Home Buyers Guide, or call us to answer all your questions 407-539-1053.