Charlotte Real Estate Blog

Short Sale Negotiating Process of 2009

I am sure that you have heard the horror stories of short sales and how they can seem like a never ending process.  While they are definitely more tricky than a normal sale they can even be confusing to other agents who have dealt this short sales in the past.  It seems that every short sale transaction is different and that every bank has a different procedure to move the file closer to a closing date. 

This has been my experience with short sales in 2009:

My first short sale transaction took place in January of 2009.  I represented the buyer who found a house that was new construction where the builder was going under.  The list price had already been approved by the bank and the transaction was very fast and smooth.  Since, the banks have been swarmed with short sales and foreclosures and it seems that the process has changed a lot....at least with the banks I have been dealing with.

Since my first short sale closing I have obtained several short sale listings.  2009 was a learning experience for all agents in the short sale category but while many agents steer away from them I am looking to obtain more.  I would be lying if I said that short sales are easy but they are another piece of the pie that all agents should be chasing. 

When you take a listing as a short sale you should start by notifying your lender that you will be attempting to sale the property for less than you owe.  The lender will give you a list of information to send to them.  This usually includes a hardship letter explaining your loss of income and your reason for being unable to continuing to pay your mortgage, 2 years of tax returns, income statements, tax bills, pay stubs, bank statements and anything else the banks think may be useful in getting a full picture of your financial status.  Once the banks have received this information, they will keep it until you receive an offer.  Some banks will give you an idea of what the property should be listed for in order for them to do a short sale but many will just allow the agent to list the property to try to obtain multiple offers.    If it is several months before you receive an offer the bank will ask for updated financial information.

So now that you send the offer to the bank, what's next?

It could take days or months for the file to be looked at depending on the bank.  Some banks are definitely harder to work with than others.  Once they start to work on the file they will either order a broker price opinion or a full appraisal of the property.  The bank will want to have a pretty good indication of the current market value before they will allow the property to close.  Again this process can take several days or several weeks. 

The banks I have dealt with will only look at the highest and best offer.  The other offers are still there incase the buyer of the best offer decides the walk.  The bank will ask the sellers to sign the highest and best offer but this does not form a contract because the MLS should state that the closing of the property is contingent upon 3rd party bank approval.  Until the bank approves the offer and approves the short sale, a contract is not formed between the bank/sellers and the buyers. 

Once everything has been approved, the buyers will begin obtaining financing and will perform all necessary inspections and the property will move towards closing like a normal sale.

I hope this helped somebody understand what is going on with short sales.

SOLD | Avenue Condominiums Unit 3202 |

210 N. Church St. Unit 3202 Charlotte, NC 28202

I just received a new listing...and this one came off of my website and this is a short sale.  This unit has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 parking spaces and a storage area.  The unit has hardwood floors in the entry halls, kitchen and living room.  The kitchen has all stainless steel appliances and shows great. 

The amenities in the Avenue Condominiums are hard to beat.  They offer a concierge service, fitness room, theatre room, resort-like pool, rec. room with pool table, outdoor grilling and fireplaces.  The environment is very hip and is a great place to meet some new friends that live in the building.  The outside fireplaces have couches and flat screen televisions where groups will hang out and watch a game or movie. 

The unit is on a corner and all of the exterior walls are glass.  It has amazing views of the city and is priced very aggressively. 

Park South Station Information

Take Park Road south of the city and take a right onto Archdale just south of SouthPark.  Park South Station will be 0.7 miles on your left and you will enter the community at the bottom of this neighborhood map. 

The units that are marked with red marker are sold but as you can see the community has a long ways to go.  This is a Ryan Homes community and because of their business plan, the builders will not build the units until they are under contract. 

This property is the old location of Celenese and because of this the community is located on a Brownsfield.  A Brownsfield area is where a commercial business used to be and has contaminated the soil and now the area has been cleaned up and is being used as residential space.  Ryan Homes has done a great job of cleaning and contaminated soil and they continue to test the ground after every hard rain. 

What does this mean for a buyer?

• Since this is a Brownsfield area you will only have to pay a portion of your property taxes for the first several years
• You will not be using city water and will have a higher water bill than normal

I sent a mass email to the 100+ agents in my office last week about the stigma that comes with a Brownsfield...they agreed that it is definitely something that needs to be disclosed and explained to the buyer but it doesn't seem to have a strong negative impact on buyers decision. 

Ryan Homes is offering competitive prices for new townhomes and they are also able to throw in several upgrades to make your new place just the way you want it. 

All of their units come with:

• 10-Year Warranty
• Energy efficient gas heat and central air conditioning
• 50 gallon quick recovery water heater
• 9 foot ceilings on the main floor
• Oak railings with primed spindles
• GE appliances
• Luxury owner's bath with soaking tub....some floor plans have a separate shower
• Cultured marble vanity tops
• 42 inch Maple Recessed cabinets with crown molding

These items come standard but Ryan Homes can take you to their design center and you can customize your house with the colors and upgrades that you like.  Make sure your agent asks for these upgrades under the price that has already been quoted to you.  New construction subdivisions are more likely to throw in upgrades than to lower the list price because they want to keep the home values at a certain level. 

Park South Station amenities: 

• Gated Community
• Very large pool
• Club house
• Fitness center

Park South Station Home Owners Assocation fees = $195/month