Oakland County MI Home Buyer- That Short Sale Approval is Also Subject to the Seller’s Approval of the Short Sale Terms
There are many facets to a short sale………this blog brings up a point that many seem to forget…….SELLER approval of the BANKS APPROVAL………sound confusing but it’s not.
Most listing agents of short sales, good or bad agents, will insist on a clause in either the purchase agreement or an addendum, stating that the sale is contingent upon seller and lien holder approval of the short sale. If the listing agent doesn’t demand something along those lines in the offer then they shouldn’t even have a license. So there is really no getting around the fact that the seller needs to approve the short sale terms.
When representing a seller, one of the conditions that should be fought for is to have the bank(s) agree to release the seller from liability for the deficiency. Basically they should insist that the bank put in writing that they won’t sue a seller for the short fall. Every Seller should be prepared that they may have to come up with some money/funds or sign a note, or both in order to get the banks to agree not to sue them. Not every listing agent is going to prepare their seller for this possibility (probability)……if the Seller has not been properly counseled it may kill the deal …………….the Buyer does not get the home they have been waiting for and must start the process all over again.
The facts are, if you make an offer that is accepted by the seller, and one of the contingencies is a short sale must be approved by the bank(s) with terms the seller can accept, there is a very good chance the house will never close if the listing agent isn’t a very good agent (unfortunately the Buyer, nor the Buyers Agent have any control here!). In the meantime you will have sat around waiting and hoping interest rates don’t go up too much and hoping that property values don’t go up too much (and they HAVE started going up), and hoping that some agent you know nothing about can get a very difficult job done to the satisfaction to both the bank AND the seller.
And if that agent can’t get the job done, then you get to start all over again.
Short sales are NOT for the faint of heart or for anybody on any kind of time line to move. Before you start looking at homes, you need to have a long talk with your agent to decide if you even want to look at short sale listings.
Short sales have been on the rise in North Oakland County MI over the past year. Short sale closings in Lake Orion for example, more than doubled in 2010 from 2009– from 32 to 74 short sale closings. Often times a short sale is a terrific deal. They have to be for the trials and tribulations they put everybody through.
Kari Trail Butz……………Realtor
Specializing in Home Buyer Representation
Cell: 248-459-9789
Email: Kari@BuyMiHomes.com
Web: www.BuyMiHomes.com
Michigan Real Estate 
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