How do I approach this Short Sale property?

[Okey Dokie]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

I don't understand what you are asking either ?


I thought it has been lived in for the past 19 years, not been sold.


Short sales are not easy. Do you have a buyer's agent working with you? You need one... and one who is very familiar with short sales. They're a little different.

I think the OP is wanting to know if it is worthwhile to look at other short sale properties that have successfully closed to see, for example, how much of a discount from market value was accepted.

[minna_reid]

I’ve closed several hundred short sales. I can tell you that they usually don’t sell for much less than traditional sales. About five or 10% less. Don’t go into this thinking that you’re going to get a huge discount. The best way to find out the fair market value of this property is to have Realtor run a market analysis comparing it to other similar homes in similar condition.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by GNCamry99

I am asking about pulling past short sales data that shows listed/sold vales, no of days in listing etc.

That is irrelevant information. Short sales done by different lenders have different processes and the investor behind the loan has their own criteria for short sales. Is HUD involved because it is FHA? It will take longer. You just need to make the offer you want to make and see if the seller accepts it to be submitted to the lender for approval.

[GNCamry99]

Thanks for your replies/suggestion.

I find the following on contract document.

The property is subject to fee or assessment charged under authority grated to developer pursuant to section 32-4-310 of the Baltimore County Maryland code. Which purports to cover or defray the cost of installing all or part of the public water or sewer facilities constructed by the developer of the sub division known as .... This fee or assessment is $500 - 900/year.

It looks like a lien on the property. There is no specific about duration and buyback option etc.

What is the reason the developer want to put a lien hold on the property after selling to someone?

What is the benefit for the owner, who buy this property and pays $500 - 900/year?

There is a water tax paid to county for water consumption on top of this.

Are there ways to avoid/remove this lien hold on this property?

Thanks for sharing.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by GNCamry99

Thanks for your response.

It is listed as short sale property. Here is more info.

It was listed originally for 225K and dropped to 210K recently.

As I mentioned in my post, there is no upgrade has been done since initial built. We estimated that we need to spend around 35-40K to bring to market ready condition.

In the same neighborhood similar home was sold it for 240K (with upgrades, market ready condition) in 2018.

Maryland Property record shows 226,100 as assessed value.

I find 210K is not attractive for investor, but I am not a investor. I am looking for owner occupant.

Are there ways to look past short sales info to make an offer?

What will be the realistic offer to make?

Thanks for guidance.

If you want to live in the house, you don't necessarily have to do all these "upgrades" at once, and some of them you can do yourself for a lot less money, some HGTV driven crap you can just not do at all. Not every kitchen needs to become a shrine to granite and stainless. Many older, US made appliances still have more remaining service life in them than some of the new stuff has when it's new. Insisting on getting "this year's color on the walls this year" is a good way to waste a lot of money and effort.

[petsandgardens]

Originally Posted by GNCamry99

Thanks for your replies/suggestion.

I find the following on contract document.



It looks like a lien on the property. There is no specific about duration and buyback option etc.

What is the reason the developer want to put a lien hold on the property after selling to someone?

What is the benefit for the owner, who buy this property and pays $500 - 900/year?

There is a water tax paid to county for water consumption on top of this.

Are there ways to avoid/remove this lien hold on this property?

Thanks for sharing.

Sounds like you've encountered Maryland's Front Foot Fee here.

Well, in trying to be helpful and look up the link to this recently discussed Front Foot Fee, it turns out you already introduced the topic in that link.

[GNCamry99]

Thanks for weighing in. Here is an update.

I find a down trend on this short sale property listing that need work.

Initial listing for 225000 then dropped by 7%

I find another drop by 5% of price. I did find this property has Front Foot FEE debt 7150 (550/year, for 13 year).

Is it a good idea to wait for this dropping trend settle to step in for offer?

How do I protect from falling knife situation, if I make an offer?

Thanks for sharing.

[Sunshine Rules]

Having handled a number of short sales over the past 10 years, I would suggest that looking at past comparable short sales will not necessarily give you a good idea as to what this particular lender will accept as an offer as each lender sets up their own criteria for pricing.

If you find a short sale property that you like enough to write an offer on, you should have your agent ask the listing agent if the short-sale package has been prepared and is ready for submission to the seller’s lender and/or lien holders and the status of negotiations with those lien holders. It's very important if you are pursuing a short sale that your agent gather as much information as possible up front to help you determine the odds of that short sale transaction closing. The more liens to be satisfied, the less likely you are going to be able to negotiate a lower price.

If you are concerned about municipal or other liens besides mortgages, you might consider paying up front for a title search to see just how much debt the seller owes on the property and what liens you might "inherit" in a purchase. Sometimes sellers either (a) are not aware of all liens on the property or (b) are aware of the liens but don't necessarily share all of the information with potential buyers if the extent of the lien debt is large.

Any offer should definitely include a Short Sale Addendum. Your short sale addendum should stipulate how long you the buyer are willing to wait for the seller's lender(s) approval, plus other terms relating particularly to a short sale.

At one point short sales were popular as lenders were taking deep discounts to get the inventory off of their books. Over the past 3 or 4 years, most of the short sales in my area have been priced pretty much at market or close to market prices. Not the bargains they used to be.

[GNCamry99]

Thanks for weighing in. I am going to submit an offer for this. I will report the progress.


What are the situations/stages, we need to seek help from an attorney in real estate transactions?


Is it possible to complete real estate transactions without an attorney?


Thanks for sharing.