Short sales have become so common that the shorts have become holey! They're hardly worthy of news anymore. Seldom do St. Paul agents ask, "Have you ever done a short sale?" because any active agent has.
Today I got a call from a listing agent. The agent specializes (she says) in short sales. Six months ago my clients wrote an offer for one of her listings. It was a good offer for a short sale. We only reduced the price by 10%. Many short sale offers are well below that. At the time, the listing agent assured us we were the highest offer and the only one the lender was considering.
We waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . Well, you get the idea. The time was NOT short, and our patience was getting short! Finally, my clients liked another home that was for sale by a live person, one who didn't have to get bank approval for the sale. What a novel idea!
We gave notice to the short sale listing agent that we needed an acceptance by the end of the week or we would withdraw our offer. The listing agent disclosed that another higher and better offer had come in and the bank was going to accept that other offer. My clients moved on to their second choice and moved in 6 weeks ago.
The short sale agent called today inquiring if my clients were still in the market because the sale had fallen through. My clients' dream house was once again up for sale. The agent assured me the lender would be prompt in signing the purchase agreement and moving to close this time around.
Too bad, so sad. My clients have already happily moved in to their second choice home. New paint covers their walls, a jacuzzi tub has been installed, and the kitchen is organized. The former short sale home is now listed as a pre-foreclosure which means the lender is soon going to be the reluctant owner of another home. The irony is that the house will probably sell in the future for far less than we offered.
My clients' take: "It's funny how stupidity is ultimately self destructive 100% of the time."
My take: "Short sales make real estate agents short tempered!"
Well, for some, especially in our area of Naples, Florida, we'll take anything - so even a short sale can put bread on the table.
And it's especially rough when there are too many sharks in the tank. Can get messy.
Dale
Posted by: Dale Kirkland | August 18, 2008 at 05:34 PM