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I guess this is where I throw my hat in the short sale ring. I'm coming into this eyes wide open and fully expect this not to pan out. Don't get me wrong, I hope it does, but after reading as much as I have, I'm being realistic.
A bit of background information - my girlfriend (she will have a ring on her finger before we cohabitate, lol) both live at home with our respective parents. We are in no rush, but would love to get into a hosue if it is the right one. The more I read about the housing market, the more I believe we are the perfect buyers for this market and for the forseeable future. However, we definitely don't want to be "house poor" and although we can afford more than we've been approved for, I'm comfortable at a lower number.
Step 1: Located a house in Bergen County, NJ.
March 28th PM, Step 2: Placed an offer on the house; house has two loans, it's been in short sale status about a month, but was on the market about $200k higher a year ago. Ya think it was overpriced? Ha.
We are now waiting for an answer from the seller, and would like to hear by Friday. I'll be honest, I'm fine with the wait, as the longer it takes the more I will have in the bank to feel more comfortable when I do move in.
In that case nothing is fishy here then..... I think the deal is dead as no way I will meet the bank at 395K and there is no more countering back down from that $$.
An investor coming in to buy (at an even higher price than mine) without actually seeing the house is a possibility - but they will not be getting a good deal (in fact that would mean they are paying at or over market value.... I thought investors are bottom feeders).
They are. And I'm just guessing because I certainly don't know. I do know that there are investors that throw offers around subject to inspection of the home. When they inspect the home, that's when they begin negotiating. I'd be surprised if they close on 1 out of 100 homes they make offers on.
You submitted your offer with comps and they are standing firm......for now. Keep an eye on the house while you are shopping around for others. You just might get that house after all. Let the attorney know that you would love to be contacted if the bank will meet your price.
Frankly, based on the "haircuts" they are taking around here, yours sounds like a really good offer to me and that bank is darned stinking lucky.
Frankly, based on the "haircuts" they are taking around here, yours sounds like a really good offer to me and that bank is darned stinking lucky.
I thought so too.... mine was cash and not lowball. That's why I thought this was a good chance for me, and to pay a lawyer to work on this (a couple hundred bucks here). I guess the gamble didn't work out.
Well, this will be my first AND last SS ... I'm not wasting time and energy into another one for sure.
Wow, that sounds annoying... I'm hoping we don't end up going down that road. I included all kinds of supporting data with the offer, so hopefully it'll come out approved. I looked at the first alternative today and wow it was in bad shape. From the roof all the way down to the crawlspace, there were serious issues and the placement on the lot leaves very few options for an addition.
I think it came down to the BPO (appraisal) and some secret formula they use to figure out how much is owed vs the amount of loss the bank is willing to take. The comp that I submitted didn't do a thing.
Someone somewhere said FHA loans approve if they net 84% of the outstanding amount. Mine would've yielded >90% for the bank and still didn't get accepted.
So the only take away is that there is no logic or guideline to go by, at least not anything that outsiders like us can predict.
I think it came down to the BPO (appraisal) and some secret formula they use to figure out how much is owed vs the amount of loss the bank is willing to take. The comp that I submitted didn't do a thing.
Someone somewhere said FHA loans approve if they net 84% of the outstanding amount. Mine would've yielded >90% for the bank and still didn't get accepted.
So the only take away is that there is no logic or guideline to go by, at least not anything that outsiders like us can predict.
Haha wow, I hope that's not the case because they owe 450 on the place between the first and second, but market value is just above 300...
There's exactly one true contemporary on the market over here (and it's from the late '60s so it's less midcentury than we want), but it's overpriced by more than $100K. Been on the market since 2009 and at the same price for over a year type place. I wish some of the others would come up for sale because the more time passes and the more I read, the more unlikely it seems that anything will ever happen.
I put in the offer before Xmas. At that time, I figured even if it's 3 or 4 months waiting, there isn't too many new listings over the winter so I'm not missing out during the wait. We had 3-5 ft of snow-cover all thru the winter, so there were indeed very few properties that came on the market. The bank ended up replying and the whole deal ended by month 3, which isn't bad in terms of SS timing. If any longer than this, the market is ramping up and there's higher possibility that I come across another property that I like. If this happens, I'd walk away from the SS as soon as I go under contract on another property that has a higher chance of closing.
Unfortunately the bank's bottomline price to me is too high for this house. It has 2 beds with a 3rd bed in the attic that has really low ceilings. That 3rd bed makes the sq ft looks good on paper, but practically it's hardly usable as a 'Masterbed' (more like a closet). I don't think the configuration warrants that price for the area since I can probably get a true 3 or 4 bed home for $400K in a conventional sale. So in comparison, the bank's price is not below market value at all, maybe even higher.
Perhaps someone else may think the same price is 'fair' and gets to snap it up with no waiting at all now that the legwork has been done for the SS.
The only time a short sale would seem worth trying to me is if that were a one of a kind don't know when I'll find something like it again house. If it is a track home, just go look on the next block or next subdivision to find about the same thing in a much more attainable listing. And yet, people are wanting to make offers on something that likely will never close. It's insanity.
I won't even list short sales and consider them a waste of time. I don't take listings I know I can't sell and short sales are close enough to the same thing.
The only time a short sale would seem worth trying to me is if that were a one of a kind don't know when I'll find something like it again house.
I agree with you!! Always go for the conventional for fewer headache and better chance of a smooth transaction at equal cost.
Where I live, the track house situation is rare though. I'm been looking to buy for awhile. Typically, 1 house comes along within my price range that fits my "needs and wants" more than others (in terms of size, condition, layout, age, garage vs none, location, etc.). Then it could be many months before another property gets listed that again fits that "needs and wants" list. I used to live in another part of the country where if you want a house, you'd easily find multiple similar looking properties in each neighborhood pockets.
Looked at more houses and found one that just hit the market that works out MUCH better for us than the short sale. Same price, better condition and location, smaller but a better size for us. I already checked the deed history and this one is a totally normal transaction.
At this point we're reviewing the paperwork to make sure that getting out of what's becoming a never ending short sale purchase won't cause any problems. I kind of feel sorry for the sellers, but earlier this year it was advertised as being able to close at a reasonable timeline and that things were a lot farther along with the bank than it really was. Just like delays at the airport, it's not a huge one all at once but a lot of small ones that keep stringing you along a little while at a time.
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