Short Sale Buzz

March 23, 2011

Short Sales have been a factor in the current real estate market for at least three years. As time has gone by, lenders have revised policies and the length of time to obtain lender approval of a short sale seems to have declined. In spite of the regulation that was passed last year stating that lenders need to reply within a ten day period, no such time frame has come to pass. Agents, Buyers and Sellers and Buyers still wait an uncertain amount of time for a lender to accept a short sale offer or to decline it or to counter it.

Practically every real estate trainer or association offers classes to agents on the best ways to process a short sale offer. Tomorrow, we are attending a Webinair put on by Bank of America with the goal of learning their requirements and processing procedures. Both N.A.R. and C.A.R. have also sponsored workshops purporting to train agents to correctly handle a short sale offer. Some agents are advertising that they are "short sale certified specialists". The "buzz" is clearly on.

So far, it has been a roller coaster ride of promises and failed promises about streamlining the process. In the meantime, at least 30%+ of all for sale properties are "short sales". With all the attention focused on these transactions, we can hope that they will begin to process in a more timely fashion.