As most of you know I handle a ton of short sales for buyers and sellers and often get a lot of questions along the way. My number one goal is to educate buyers so that no mistakes are made in their journey to get a great deal on a home.
The first thing you need in your corner when buying a short sale is an experienced and knowledgeable agent. The most common mistake I hear about from buyers is they got tied up into a short sale for six months and never got the house, all due to their agent’s errors. Don’t get me wrong, I am not bad mouthing other realtors, but experience is imperative.
The second most important thing to know about buying a short sale is who the seller’s lender is. You must ask your agent to find out who the lender is prior to doing anything with the home. Each lender is different and will have a multitude of variations to their short sale process and time line. So, if your agent does not know how each lender will respond, you are setting yourself up for a problem or a time line that does not work.
The third most important thing to know about buying a short sale in Charleston, SC is if the seller’s agent has experience negotiating short sales! In many cases this is assumed that because they have the listing they must know what they are doing. The reality is that many of these agents are simply friends of the sellers and don’t know the first thing about negotiating with lenders and submitting the short sale package. If the short sale package is not submitted to the lender correctly then you can immediately rule out a fast approval and likely rule out any approval at all. The best way to get around this is to again have your agent inquire about the seller’s agents past experience and success with short sale approvals. Hopefully they have a short sale negotiator in their corner that has been hired by the seller’s agent to help negotiate with the lender on the seller’s behalf.
So please, take this valuable information and put it to good use. The first thing you should do is pick up the phone and call me or drop me a line via email. My experience will be invaluable to you during you search for a great short sale deal and remember as a buyer my services are free! I love working with new people and hope to hear from you soon!
