Hard to Handle

Short sales...back in 1994 I hoped I had seen the last of these monsters...we all learned early in the last meltdown that they were a giant pain in the neck and rarely worth the trouble.  We were glad to see the market clear them.

Unfortunately they are back and generally speaking they're still not worth the torture from an agents standpoint...and rarely from a buyers either.  They drag on for MONTHS sometimes, are completely uncontrollable as a transaction, have no definable rules to them and most often fall apart...many agents will have nothing to do with them.

The lenders behind them are buried in files from as many states as you have fingers and toes, their short sale staffs are inexperienced and the time it takes means that the files often bounce from desk to desk as they get processed at whatever rate the overburdened lenders choose to work them.   I've seen files get lost for months and for properties to go to foreclosure even as they were being negotiated for a short sale by a different department in the same bank.

Very few buyers can afford to wait as their loan locks expire, the deal gets denied by the banks or they lose interest in the whole BS process.  

I recommend that you find a bank owned property or non-short sale and go make a run at it.  The deals are just as good and they are easier on everyone.

As for me...I've wasted enough of my time dealing with them and will be severely limiting my practice to avoid them except in the most exceptional cases...if you are a client currently you can rest assured that I will see your file through but I will not be adding any more to the pile.  Not worth it!