There is a reason I sometimes ask buyers for my Sacramento short sales to agree to a longer period of time in Section 1 of the short sale addendum. So none of us has to listen to: Where is my stinkin' short sale approval letter? There is also a reason I have spoken to the legal guys over at C.A.R. about changing the default time in Section 1 of the short sale addendum. Because 45 days is an unreasonable expectation.
That's not to say I can't get short sale approval in 45 days because sometimes I can. It's that the odds are against it. And because, much as I would like to, I don't control when the short sale approval letter arrives. I can speed it up by quickly submitting documents. I try to submit docs on the same day they are requested. I don't drag my feet. I pound everybody around me -- just ask my battered team who duck when they see me coming.
Yet, still, without fail, I will receive an email from a buyer's agent cryin' the blues. Buyers' agents are cryin' the blues because their buyers are making their lives a living hell. Buyers get angry. They get really mad. They think the world is out to get them. The lender is delaying the short sale just to mess with them. Not. Or, they think this Sacramento short sale agent has a magic wand, which she selfishly is storing in a locked safe, and she refuses to wave it. On purpose.
Buyers are mad because they feel helpless. Hey, I didn't tell you to write an offer on this short sale. If you can't stand waiting for approval or putting up with lenders making promises to you they can't keep, then you should have thought about that before deciding to buy a short sale. Banks invariably promise turnaround times that never materialize. Negotiators go on vacation. Some of them die. I'm sure they croak right on their desks. OK, they get fired. The really bad negotiators get promoted, like this one at Chase Bank who never returned phone calls, emails or responded to faxes, and now she's a VP or something.
Buyers can't threaten the bank because the bank would have to care for that to be effective. The bank doesn't care. The investors don't care. If it's a GSE, they especially don't care.
Because buyers are mad, they want to regain control. The only way to regain control is to cancel the transaction. Then you're in complete control. Except you have no house. No escrow. No hope of closing. And you get to start over on somebody else's short sale who might not know or care about the transaction as much as this Sacramento short sale agent does.
Short sale buyers? I understand your frustration, your anger, your hostility, the sense of hopelessness and especially the fear that it won't get approved. Have a little faith. We Sacramento short sale agents are damn good at our jobs, and that approval letter will come. The odds are really in your favor, much as it might not seem like it. But if you want to be labeled a fool and cancel, knock yourself out.
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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.
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Great Post. I read this again and again, and it strikes me odd, that even buyers in this market do not understand that the lender works at no mans pace.... With that said, wait, is the name of the game. Wait, or move on to the next property... Many of our credit clients, go on to buy short sales, and call me for friendly advise on waiting or throwing the towel in after only 30 or 45 days... And I am not even their agent.. These are things I truly believe or news casters should be reporting about, and I'd even take it a step further and make a chart of sorts on which lender has the best turn times for short sale approvals, this way consumers would atleast be able to make an executive decision on chosing to offer on a certain home or another based on which Lender they'd have to deal with... Just a thought.
Hi Christina: With the exception of Wachovia -- and I love Wachovia short sales -- there are no really fast turnarounds 100% of the time. That's because each short sale depends not only on the bank but on the investor and the PSA. That's why you can't point to say, Bank of America, much as I love doing B of A short sales, and say that Bank of America always turns them around in 60 days, because it depends. Is it a Bank of America Fannie Mae short sale? A Bank of America Freddie Mac short sale? A Bank of America HAFA? A Bank of America FHA short sale? A Bank of America Freddie Mac HAFA short sale (which there really is no such thing unless it's preapproved), a Bank of America Fannie Mae HAFA short sale? A Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale? A Bank of America Streamlined Short Sale?
Cash so helps people in the world not feel helpless. Unfortunately the cash is in the hands of the banks here, hence all the power swung their way with their stupid delays. It sure irks me sometimes these stories of delays. Downright frustrating.
Great post Elizabeth. I think if the negotiator is band and dies then he gets promoted to VP. I always change the number of days in section 1 of the short sale addendum. Wachovia is the only bank that I can be reasonably sure will not take much more than the 45 days.
Elizabeth, The only way for one to know what really goes on in processing a short sale is for one to process a short sale. No one wants to believe that the idiots are promoted and that many do not answer their phones, return calls or respond to emails. Knowing how to escalate helps.
Elizabeth - This is on the mark. I have to question every agent who submits short sale to make sure they understand exactly what is up ahead. What really gets me is when I get an offer with a 30 day closing date and the agent tells me that he just wants the lender to understand that this needs to be completed in timely manner. I usually explain this to seller and we do not accept those offers. Thanks for sharing and I am going to reblog!
Elizabeth
Love the way you speak the truth. No matter how many times you tell buyers the way it is likely to be, there will be those who simply won't wait. And quite frankly would I wait many months to find out if I was going to get particular home? Probably not. That's just me. So I won't be looking at any short sales! But I understand how frustrating it can be for buyers.
But it's frustrating on both sides. The only people who don't seem frustrated are the banks.
Jeff
Elizabeth, once again you hit the target with your post. Some are short and some are NOT! Great post and always an enjoyable read!
I used to think that the greatest asset of a Realtor was negotiation skills. In today’s market the greatest asset is patience. The nest most important skill is the ability to instill patience into short sale buyers through their often clueless agents.
I get calls all the time on regional downpayment assistance programs because we make it a point to know them all. There is roll or income for realtors or mlos (I am both) on these but I often get the rest of the transaction.