Sometimes, I suspect I should not read the newspaper, especially crap about celebrities. Celebrity news makes me cringe. Makes me want to scream: I've got news for you, Charlie Sheen. You are not special. You are delusional. I think that attitude comes with years of being an alcoholic, but Hollywood probably comes into play as well. When you've got people telling you how special you are, over and over, you probably start to believe it.
Well, none of us is special. We all end up in the same place. That place being either a box or ashes.
When I hear buyers yammering about what short sale banks should or should not do, it makes me want to bop them over the head. Tell me, Elizabeth, for how long have you suppressed these urges to beat up buyers? I can hear my shrink now. OK, maybe slap both cheeks with a glove, followed by Qu'est-ce qu'il y a? How about that image?
Banks do not have to grant a short sale. A short sale is a privilege, not a right. The bank is entitled to payment on its mortgage. If the home is in default, the bank might very well make more money through foreclosure. Banks are not desperate for short sales. That's a myth. Their CEOs are not losing sleep at night, tossing and turning, wondering how they can convert underwater liabilities into short sales.
If you're thinking about buying a short sale, here are 5 things you need to know:
- The bank is not going to sell a short sale to you at 50 cents on the dollar of market value.
- The bank may or may not agree to pay your closing costs.
- The bank might demand a cash or promissory note contribution from someone.
- The bank reserves the right to change its mind.
- The bank (its investors) writes all of the rules and you write none of the rules.
And hire yourself a good Sacramento short sale agent who can explain to you how short sales work and answer all of your short sale questions. Get a buyer's agent. If you hire a buyer's agent who also has listed and sold short sales, that agent will have a better understanding of how short sales work than an agent who has never worked on the listing side.
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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.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
