This is the fourth installment in my Tucson Short Sales series, I would suggest reading part one (Tucson Short Sales – Part 1 – What are Short Sales?) part two (Tucson Short Sales – Part 2 – I’m Ready to Short Sale My Home.. What Are The Repercussions?) and part three (Tucson Short Sales – Part 3 – How to Short Sale My Home) before reading this article.
After the offer has been submitted to the bank (typically to someone in the Loss Mitigation department), your file will probably be assigned to an intermediary or negotiator. These people have many files just like yours on their desks and their job is to evaluate each offer to see if it warrants further consideration. Many banks have a bottleneck at this stage in the process and simply cannot keep up with the number of short sale packages coming across their desks.
The bank has to know what the actual market value of the home is before it can intelligently evaluate a buyer’s offer. They will usually order an appraisal or Broker Price Opinion (BPO) to determine the market value of the property which will help them decide which course of action to take with an offer (accept, reject, counter).
The next step in the process is usually the one that takes the longest. After a valuation of the property has been completed and the offer has been deemed complete the holder of the note has to decide what to do.
You see, many times a mortgage has been resold by your mortgage company to an investor or group of investors (whether individually or in a “bundle” or other mortgages). When this is the case (the bank doesn’t hold the mortgage note), the investor(s) has to evaluate the offer and choose either to accept, reject, or make a counter-offer.
This step can be even further complicated when there are multiple lenders (80/20 or 80/10/10 loans, for example).
The short sale process typically takes no less than 30 days. There are some lenders, smaller ones usually, who can respond more quickly to an offer. I have seen short sales take seven months from contract submission to close of escrow, and I have seen countless short sales that have gone to foreclosure because the bank did not respond soon enough. This is definitely the most stressful and frustrating part of the short sale process because it involves waiting. And more waiting. And then, more waiting. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and have a responsive lender but nine ten out of times you won’t.
For the next step in the Short Sale process (End Game Short Sales) stayed tuned!
- Tucson Short Sales – Part 1 – What are Short Sales?
- Tucson Short Sales – Part 2 – I’m Ready to Short Sale My Home.. What Are The Repercussions?
- Tucson Short Sales – Part 3 – How to Short Sale My Home
- Tucson Short Sales – Part 4 – The Offer Is In To The Bank
- Tucson Short Sales – Part 5 – End Game Short Sales
If you would like to search the Tucson MLS for Short Sale, Bank-Owned, or Foreclosure homes, search for Tucson Homes for Sale or contact me for a comprehensive list.
If you would like assistance in avoiding foreclosure feel free to contact me for a no-cost consultation.
Michael Krotchie
