I provide a handy dandy tip sheet for buyer's agents on my Sacramento short sales, which I attach to MLS. Not everybody understands what it's like to be a Sacramento short sale agent. My tip sheet explains much about the short sale process and how short sales work. One of the items on that list is the fact the home is sold in its "as is" condition. This means the bank will do no repairs and give no credit for condition.
It doesn't matter if the buyer discovers through a home inspection that the AC unit is underutilized or inoperative. No repairs. As is. It doesn't matter if the buyer discovers through a pest inspection that dry rot or termites are present. No repairs, as is. It also doesn't matter if thugs steal the AC unit, which I've had happen 3 times last year. No repairs, as is. In exchange for the lender's loss, the home is sold "as is."
A short sale is similar to an REO but unlike an REO the bank does not want to see a Request for Repair nor an addendum lowering the price -- because the bank has made it clear through the arm's length affidavit that the home is sold as is. Any defects become the buyer's responsibility. The bank is under no obligation to even sell this home as a short sale.
Are there ever exceptions to this? Very rarely. In fact, the odds against it are so rare that it is more cost effective for the sellers to resell the short sale to another buyer who isn't freaking out over repairs than to try to renegotiate with the bank. To consider a repair or credit request, the bank need an addendum signed by both parties. The bank will also want 3 repair estimates. By the time buyers can get that together and the bank rejects it, the sellers could have closed with a different buyer.
Lately, I've been including verbiage in my addendums with buyers in Sacramento that state: The home is sold in its as is condition. This means negotiations are over. The buyer understands there will be no repairs, whatsoever, for any reason. Sometimes I think about adding: "On God's Green Earth," and maybe I'll start including that verbiage, too. Yet, still, buyers are under the impression the bank will pay for a repair. Where do they get this, I wonder?
Moreover, since when does a listing agent's fiduciary switch from the seller to the buyer? Answer: It doesn't.
---
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.
