As most of us know, there is no doubt that a short sale is not your run of the mill real estate transaction. Anyone who has ever been involved with one knows there are a lot of hoops to jump through. Be aware, especially locally here in southwest Riverside, there are a high percentage of short sales that never make it to closing.

If you have done any research on short sales you will find articles and blog postings blaming the lender for any number of things. In many cases the realtors, sellers, and buyers have every right to be angry. However, the reason the transaction for a number of individuals does not fly is because of the seller’s realtor.

Unfortunately, there are a number of realtors that have never done a short sale and have limited knowledge of the process, yet are taking listings from homeowners who want to short sell that do not know any better.

In this challenging real estate environment, the agent you select can have a profound effect on the outcome of your home selling efforts. Short sale is a huge buzz-word in our industry right now given how tough the market is and how many people are upside-down on their mortgages.

First, make sure the agent you choose has the capabilities and the experience to negotiate a successful short sale with your lender. Ask for references. Ask if they are relying on others for the bank negotiations. If so, make sure you speak with them directly. Ask them how many completed short sales they have done lately.

If you have a first and a second mortgage make sure they have prior experience Advertisement

[ The Tutoring Center ] in dealing with multiple lenders. Their current closure success rate is very important in this ever changing market.

Lenders and their investors are constantly changing and updating their short sale approval policies based mainly on local market conditions. Not to mention our government policy makers’ efforts to get our lenders’ attention with their on-going, up-and-coming, and pending funding incentive programs.

Second, ask how your listing agent will handle submitting offers. The correct way is to have the seller sign an offer that makes sense and submit that to the bank. If the listing agent tells you that they will be collecting offers and submitting all of them to the bank, run. Please note: a lender is not going to accept a short sale if the submitted offer is way under the market value. The offer submitted needs to make sense. The lender will send out an appraiser to verify the value and if it does not meet their parameters it will be rejected.

Finally, be aware, listing your home as a short sale can delay or put on hold the foreclosure process but, it will not stop it. That is why it is so important to have an agent with experience to guide you through this process. You might not get a second chance to avoid a foreclosure.

If you have questions regarding these differences between a successful short sale verses a foreclosure and want to learn more about how they impact your credit, contact Mike Mason, Broker/Owner of MASON Real Estate DRE: 01483044, Board of Director, Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource certified by National Association of Realtors (NAR) at or call (951) 296-8887.