Short Sales in Southeast Michigan- What to Expect
Short sales in Southeast Michigan- What to expect, including my attempt to define exactly what a short sale is and the basic steps involved. Below is more about what to expect throughout the short sale transaction.
Short sale listings can be some of the best bargains available in Southeast Michigan, but there are things about short sales that the Southeast Michigan home buyer should be aware of prior to even looking at houses.
- Be prepared to wait 3-6 months (sometimes longer) for short sale approval
- Be aware the lien holders may not agree to the payoff required to proceed with your offer. After 3-6+ months your offer may be countered or outright rejected
- Don’t expect appliances to stay
- Don’t expect the seller to pay for repairs
- DO expect to close pretty quickly once the short sale is approved
One of the first things everybody involved in a short sale needs to understand is that the banks are under no obligation to approve a short sale. The banks are better off accepting a reasonable offer on a short sale rather than foreclosing, and I haven’t had one denied yet, but that doesn’t mean they are never denied. There are factors beyond the control of the buyer or buyer’s agent.
- We can’t control how cooperative the seller will be with the bank’s demands addressed in more detail here
- We can’t control how knowledgeable or diligent the listing agent is
- We don’t know from day-to-day what financial incentives the government will offer the banks which can determine what short sales they approve
- When there are multiple mortgages we don’t know how well the negotiators for the first and the second will play together or the abilities of the listing agent to ref them
- The seller can also reject the terms of the short sale which will be addressed in detail in another post
In a nut shell– short sales can be a good bargain but for the right buyer. You need to have the patience of a saint and the ability to move on someone else’s schedule.
Kari Trail Butz…….Realtor
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
cell: (248)459-9789
Kari@BuyMiHomes.com
web: http://www.BuyMiHomes.com
Michigan Real Estate 
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