Buying a Short Sale?

[fulmontess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NV

I have recently found a condo that I am interested in purchasing. The price is good, but probably because it is a short sale. My question is what would I be getting into in trying to buy this condo. I spoke to a real estate agent regarding this, and he suggested I find another property. I would appreciate any advice on this matter.

Best Regards,

-P

[nextwife]

I just approved a short sale offer last week (this is a part of my job), and it's closing mid month. It took us about a week to go through the approval process, from offer to approval. Why is the Realtor telling you to pass?

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Find out how much they are in arrears on their maintenance dues. If they haven't been paying the mortgage, they haven't been paying their dues either. There would/could be a lien on the place for that. It will add to the price of the condo.

[dmiller12]

...And get a different real estate agent. Short sales can somteims take a long while for approval so plan on being patient. I suspect the real estate would prefer to work with you on a transaction that has the chance of closing sooner.

Other than that, you should treat the transaction like any other and have a licensed real estate agent or an attorney prepare and review the contract addressing issues like HOA dues, taxes, pending assessments etc... Get a home inspection, buy owners title insurance, review the condo docs very carefully. If you have a specific time-line that you need to be in the home, address that in the P/A too in case the bank sits on this for months but you'll need to be realistic. Make the offer subject to you obtaining acceptable financing at a certain interest rate. Since it may take awhile for the bank to approve this - if rates go up, you could be stuck with a payment you can't afford. Also make the purchase agreement contingent upon an acceptable appraisal and clear title.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by fulmontess

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NV

I have recently found a condo that I am interested in purchasing. The price is good, but probably because it is a short sale. My question is what would I be getting into in trying to buy this condo. I spoke to a real estate agent regarding this, and he suggested I find another property. I would appreciate any advice on this matter.

Best Regards,

-P

**A: I have seen short sales take from 1-3 months to get the lender to approve and close.

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

**A: I have seen short sales take from 1-3 months to get the lender to approve and close.

Well, then, they are far less efficient than we are!

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by nextwife

Well, then, they are far less efficient than we are!

You must be super fast.

Normal loans take 1 - 3 months!

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by nextwife

Well, then, they are far less efficient than we are!

**A: I am working on one transaction now and into the 2.5 month period with Country....

[fulmontess]

Thank you all for your help with this. I finally had a chance to look at the property, and we have decided to move forward with it (being very thorough). I am putting the agent to work to find out everything that you all have suggested. He is okay with doing it, I think he was just hoping I would go for something that would move a little quicker (as previously stated). I appreciate everyone's help, and I'm sure I will be asking more questions in the near future.

-P

[HomeGuru]

good luck to you.

[CharlotteInvest]

some short sales are known to take up to 9 months. it depends on the mortgage companys size and ability to handle a large number of defaulting loans.