Property listed as a short sale on the market for 500+ days. HOW is this possible? (for sale, foreclosure) - Fort Myers - Cape Coral area - Florida (FL) -Lee County - City-Data Forum

Jkgourmet · 04-13-2011, 08:48 AM

We are not teribly familiar with short sales. We looked at a lovely condo the other day that has been on the market for over 500 days and is in a short sale situation. The condo is owned by a realtor, and from our initial conversations with him, is definately NOT anxious to sell the property. For example, He is requiring a large cash payment to him for "furniture" as part of the agreement.

I don't get how this situation can occur. How can an owner do that in a short sale? For that matter, how can a property remain in short sale status for this long? Why is it not in foreclosure?

Foxrivman1 · 04-13-2011, 08:51 AM

Is this property listed on Zillow? How did you find it? I too would be interested to see how this shakes out, info wise!

CCRESI · 04-13-2011, 09:17 AM

I have seen short sales listed that long because of slacking sellers or the banks dropping the ball etc. Or being overpriced, the list goes on.

However, giving someone cash for furnture is a NO NO. Reason-how are you going to prove you paid him $? What if he decides to take the furniture before closing? You are screwed...

What did your Realtor say?

equalrightsforeveryone · 04-13-2011, 09:28 AM

There is all kinds of monkey business going on.
I have made offers (not on short sales) and they were refused because "there was an other offer and the sale was pending" one year later the properties still hadn't closed, there are all kind of investigations going on by the state and so called "Agents are getting busted all the time for being crooked.

Just move on and find an other home there are plenty out there, and more listed everyday.

Jkgourmet · 04-13-2011, 10:00 AM

We are moving on from this particular property (I also feel the owner realtor is up to something and there are too many units for sale for such a small condo association - if one owner doesn't pay their condo fees, the few remaining owners are screwed.)

but this isn't isolated. We are only looking at condos in CC that were built after 2005. We've seen several listings of condo short sales that have been on the market for 250+ days. Still finding builder owned condo properties that have never been lived in. I just don't get what is going on here. We've made no offers, but have made (through our realtor or the builders representative) initial inquiries. We have absolutely gotten the impression that the SELLERS are NOT very anxious to move these properties. Which is very different than the market where we come from where the sellers ARE anxious, but the banks don't respond.

Cobalt502 · 04-13-2011, 10:08 AM

If it is a "Bank Of America" Short Sale anything could happen, except a closing!

Donna-501 · 04-13-2011, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

We are moving on from this particular property (I also feel the owner realtor is up to something and there are too many units for sale for such a small condo association - if one owner doesn't pay their condo fees, the few remaining owners are screwed.)

but this isn't isolated. We are only looking at condos in CC that were built after 2005. We've seen several listings of condo short sales that have been on the market for 250+ days. Still finding builder owned condo properties that have never been lived in. I just don't get what is going on here. We've made no offers, but have made (through our realtor or the builders representative) initial inquiries. We have absolutely gotten the impression that the SELLERS are NOT very anxious to move these properties. Which is very different than the market where we come from where the sellers ARE anxious, but the banks don't respond.

When we were trying to sell my mom's condo we had a buyer and the buyer had a mortgage secured and about 8 or 9 days before the closing the bank (BoA) decided that they weren't going to lend the money because of the HOA. The deal fell through but we did get an investor for cash and it closed a week late. The funny thing is the buyer had BoA and so did my mother. I have heard of this from others also. Seems to be hard to get financing on condo's and townhomes with so many foreclosers.

Donna-501 · 04-13-2011, 08:21 PM

Did forget to add that this was on the other side of FL and not here but it may be one of the reasons.

hiknapster · 04-13-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

We are moving on from this particular property (I also feel the owner realtor is up to something and there are too many units for sale for such a small condo association - if one owner doesn't pay their condo fees, the few remaining owners are screwed.)

but this isn't isolated. We are only looking at condos in CC that were built after 2005. We've seen several listings of condo short sales that have been on the market for 250+ days. Still finding builder owned condo properties that have never been lived in. I just don't get what is going on here. We've made no offers, but have made (through our realtor or the builders representative) initial inquiries. We have absolutely gotten the impression that the SELLERS are NOT very anxious to move these properties. Which is very different than the market where we come from where the sellers ARE anxious, but the banks don't respond.

If the agent owns the property and it is in short sale it means they are trying to sell it for less than what he/she owes. Most of the owners are not anxious. They've been sitting on these properties for a very long time without paying.

But yes, cash for furniture - required, no less! - is against the law. I'm sure that whoever is holding the note would not be amused.

Whoever this agent is, he should be immediately reported to the local MLS. Seriously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobalt502

If it is a "Bank Of America" Short Sale anything could happen, except a closing!

The reason is BofA has a little situation where they can't seem to put their hands on real paperwork that says they actually own these properties. It really makes it tough at closing. It's also making it tough to foreclose on properties. My mortgage is through BofA, originally Countrywide.

TamRE · 04-20-2011, 05:48 AM

I have a short sale listing that has been in lis pendens (pre-foreclosure) status for almost 3 years. But has only been on the market 8 months. It is finally set for a closing date. Quite often the bank will hold the foreclosure process if they have accepted a short sale. The owner that you are referring to may have had a previous offer and the short sale process was started. There are so many variables in a short sale situation.

As far as the furniture, I have had customers purchase furniture separately from the seller. We make a list and have the buyer and seller sign it, just like a bill of sale. Then they each have a receipt. But they don't pay for it until closing. I also recommend a walk through.

Here is some additional information on short sales.

Buying a short sale is not like buying a property in a traditional way. A short sale may have some risk but it also can be very rewarding. When you are searching for a short sale you will want to make sure you are prepared. Here are some things you will need to consider.

First of all, you need to make sure that you have enough time. It takes anywhere from 30 days to 6 months or even more to get an answer on a short sale. It really depends on many factors. It requires a proof of funds letter if paying cash or a pre-approval letter from a lender if obtaining a mortgage. The seller must approve the purchase offer before it gets submitted to the bank. The bank may come back with a counteroffer or reject your offer completely. In some instances you may not even hear back from the bank at all.

Short sales take a long time because the bank has to review it and they are back logged with many short sales and don't have enough coverage to complete them in a timely manner. The bank typically is willing to work with the seller and buyer on short sales to help avoid foreclosure.

One of the benefits of buying a short sale is that the bank is typically willing to accept less money for the property because of the time and risk involved. So you generally are getting the home at below market value.

If you have the time to wait, a short sale is a good way to go. One thing to be sure to ask when purchasing a short sale is, "who is handling it?" Is the Realtor an experienced short sale expert? Or is the listing agent using a Short Sale company that strictly focuses on short sales? By having someone with knowledge and expertise in short sales, it will make the process go much smoother and faster.