There is an upside to buying a short sale. There are many upsides and benefits to short sales when you stop to think about it and stop focusing on how long it takes to get the danged approval. One of those benefits is seller disclosure. You don't get a seller disclosure when you buy a bank-owned home. Well, you do, but it's stamped EXEMPT all over it.
I tell my short sale sellers to fully disclose. Don't ever be afraid to disclose. Sometimes, sellers worry that buyers won't want to buy their home if they tell them the truth. But that's an unfair assumption. Besides, disclosing a material fact is the law. Buyers don't care what you tell them as long as you tell them. Half of them don't even read the disclosures. I ask my sellers if they remember signing their disclosures 4, 5 years ago. The answer is no, they don't. But they did receive and sign seller disclosures prior to closing.
There are a few guidelines to seller disclosures. First, don't get wordy; be brief. Don't write four pages of stuff that you think might happen some day. Second, stick to the facts. You don't know that your next-door neighbor is dealing drugs unless you've seen him do it. Did you buy any drugs from him? Did you see anybody buy drugs from him? Or did you just hear a car late one night idling in front of his home and jump to conclusions?
Of course, in California we've got pot dispensaries. If there is a pot dispensary in your neighborhood, my suggestion is that you disclose it. You might say the Official Medical Wellness Center, or whatever it is called, is located two blocks away. You probably would not want to say it is a pot dispensary that attracts long-haired pinko commie fags and the Feds are trying to shut it down. Let the buyers investigate. I'm telling you buyers don't care what you say. Just put them on notice.
Third, disclose the obvious. A seller might say there is a school located across the street. You'd think that is obvious because you can see the school from the front door, but no. A buyer could say, "Hey, man, I was there only once, and I was texting when I got out of my agent's car -- never saw it." Lots of buyers stumble around with their heads down and thumbs flying.
Bottom line is sometime in the next 5 years, something will go wrong in your house. And when it does, the first place a buyer will jump is THE SELLER KNEW ABOUT IT AND DIDN'T TELL ME. It's just a natural progression of life, the way things are. This is when we pull out the seller disclosures and point out that we fully disclosed everything to the buyer.
If you need further proof, just look at that fiasco of the snake-infested house in Idaho. Those buyers signed disclosures that revealed they were buying a snake-infested house. You might ask yourself who would buy a house that is crawling with hundreds of snakes? You'd be surprised what buyers will buy. One buyer's nightmare is another buyer's dream home. Disclose.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
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The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
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