Buying a Short Sale is like Mining for gold
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Buying a short sale is like being a miner…A miner will dig and dig, for months, until they find gold right? Buying a short sale can be very much like mining for gold. You need to have a miner’s mindset and use better tools than the others.
“How many months is this going to take?” This question is being asked with great regularity… too much really. The answer…It depends on who has the mine. Period. If the Listing agent (who has the mine or short sale) is not proactive then it doesn’t matter how hard your Realtor works or how high your offer is…you won’t find any gold.
Your Realtor is your mining pick. They need to know how to qualify the listing agent’s knowledge, experience and ability or, at least, be willing to work to help the listing agent make progress with the bank who is ultimately going to approve the short sale and…shine the light on the gold.
A successful gold miner will have a map of the gold mine and know how to navigate it. Your Realtor of choice will need to have a good map and understand the best way to navigate their way to the gold and extract it. This map is developed through representing sellers AND buyers of short sale properties, understanding all the pitfalls and the best practices to avoid them.
More and more short sales will be coming to the market and, the best homes and best buys available, will likely be short sales. This is the market condition reality for the next year or longer according to Banking industry experts and Real Estate professionals based on market statistics and economic conditions.
The extremely low interest rates are bringing droves of buyers out and multiple offers on the best homes are the norm in San Jose as well as Los Gatos and all around Santa Clara County, for that matter. Too many miners and not enough mines. You can avoid having to compete with these buyers if you realize they are overlooking the opportunity in front of them. The Short Sale properties. Agents are avoiding them because they think that most of them will never close. Ahhaa! The key! Find other mines! Be a good miner and have the sharpest pick!
