Short sales in Sacramento in August. I can't believe it is August 1. As a Sacramento short sale agent, August is shaping up to be a busy month for me. It should be a slow month, as compared to previous years, but it is not. I have scheduled so far around 10 closings. This week alone I am taking 4 listings, that I know about. Sometimes, I get an emergency short sale listing, if you can believe that. It could be 5 listings this week if a seller in 95818 gets her flooring finished, but she is not a short sale. Not every seller in Sacramento is selling as a short sale, but it sure seems like it to me.
The other thing about August 1 is I have two other short sales that are now 30 to 60 days in arrears. Some lenders / investors require delinquency in order to do the short sale. Oh, they won't come out and tell you that in so many words because they don't want to be accused of telling homeowners to stop making mortgage payments. But that's exactly what they will tell you when pressed.
Nine times out of 10, if a bank rejects a short sale, it's because the seller is current. Do all sellers have to be delinquent to do a short sale? Heavens, no. I am processing a Bank of America Cooperative short sale right now in which the sellers are current, and Bank of America is giving the sellers $2,500. These sellers might even be able to sell as a short sale and buy a new home through a mortgage banker I found in San Francisco.
There are guidelines, though, in some PSAs that prevent short sale approval without default. In those cases, the seller needs to be in arrears. The best way to do these is to submit the paperwork for your short sale on the 31st or 61st day of delinquency, depending on lender requirements. It used to be 30 days but I am seeing some investors now such as Wells Fargo demand a 60-day delinquency.
Sellers need to know that if a Notice of Default is filed, time is running out. After the NOD date, about 3 1/2 months is the time limit before a trustee's auction takes place in California. Not every bank will postpone a trustee's auction, even if an offer is on the table. Especially government sponsored entities (GSE). Whenever you've got the government involved, you can be pretty much assured the government wants to foreclose. Why does the government tend to choose foreclosure over a short sale? That's a topic for another day.
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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.
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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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