This is the third part of my series on short sales. As way of disclosure, I am NOT an expert on short sales, I am using this series as a way for me to think through the process and hopefully become better prepared to help some Sellers who may qualify for a short sale.
A short sale can be a very complicated transaction. Not only are we negotiating with the Lender but there is another entity who may be involved as well....the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Company. Most Buyers, that did not put at least 20% down when they purchased their property, were required to purchase PMI for the benefit of the Lender.
PMI protects the Lender for loses usually up to 20% of the loan amount. So, they have a say so in whether or not a short sale is accepted.
I am in the process of negotiating a short sale right now where I am actually negotiating with the PMI Company instead of the Lender. This is a first for me but so far it seems to be going well. The lady I am dealing with has been very helpful and she is the one that is handling the negotiations with the Lender. Have you ever done this before?
I'm very anxious to see how this plays out. Brian Brady wrote a very good post about this a few months ago titled "A Realtor's guide to PMI and Short Sales". Give it quick read.
Anyway, the point of this post is to make you aware of the fact that a short sale is a lot more complicated than just getting the Lender to agree to a price. The Lender is looking at the bottom line. If the short sale does not NET them more than a foreclosure then it ain't happening.
When meeting with potential Sellers you need to find out if they have PMI. If they do, then do the math. Brian is better at that than I am so if you haven't already....go read his post.
OK that's it for today. These are my thoughts. What are yours?
Other posts in the series:
A "short sale" is an option NOT an entitlement!
Becoming a better "short sale" expert. A series by Broker Bryant.
Copyright © 2007 Broker Bryant Real Estate Ramblings | All Rights Reserved

Reserved Parking For "The Lovely Wife"...TLW...ROAR!
Blog Boy...
Ooops! Sorry about that. I had to hit the treadmill. It was either that or join the Elders for Cocktails and Bingo at the Club House :)
Now after having walked uphill for a mile and a half I am too 'pooped' to pop the serious side of me :)
If I think of anything that adds value to your post I'll come back. I feel like playing.
P.S. Told ya I was working on "poop" :)
TLW...ROAR!
Thanks so much for all of these tips and advice! I have found this all very useful!
I've been involved in two but didn't have to deal with the PMI company on either one. That could change with #3 though. Thanks for the information.
I swear ... by the time this market is done with us, we will ALL (well, all who are left in the biz) be Short Sale Experts. I have been in the middle of one short sale after another, non stop since I joined AR in Sept 06.
Short sales (whether you represent the buyer or seller) is an exercise in patience, diligence, repitition, and really makes you WORK HARD... and generally for less money. Geesh. Oh well. It is the way of the market right now.
Good luck, Blog Boy!
Thanks for the mention, Bubba.
That post was an oldie; 15 months ago!
Hey everyone, Thanks for stopping by. I've been busy today so kind of abandoned my post. But as always I really appreciate you stopping by and participating.
Very good comments! As usual they add to the post. Thank you.
Rob, I haven't had an FHA or VA yet. It sounds like I may just have to pass on those.
Mathew, That is interesting. I wonder what their thought process was on that?
Mariana, Patience and more patience is certainly required. Good to see ya.
"If the short sale does not NET them more than a foreclosure then it ain't happening"
This is important, but rather useless without context. How do mortgage holders determine what they think they will NET after foreclosure. My understanding has always been that mortgage holders usually screw this up to a faretheewell. They look down their noses at some short sale offers and then end up taking 40% less 18 months later through foreclosure.
Sellers should only be concerned how THEY THEMSELVES NET out. Trying to figure out the brains of the mortgage holders and how they figure these things is a fools errand.
RRsafety, I hear ya! Lender are usually depending on an independent BPO(brokers price opinion) and/or an appraisal to arrive at what they feel it would sell for on the open market as a banked owned property(REO). Then they make a judgement call. One of the problems with trying to sell a home via a "short sale" is that once you disclose as a short sale needing 3rd party approval it affects the market value drastically.
Very few buyers are willing to wait the several months this process may take unless there is a considerable discount involved. If the lender decides to foreclose they will actually have a better shot at getting a higher price for the property BUT their expenses are quite a bit higher. Plus they have to factor in that in some areas the values are still declining. Time is money. It may be best to take less now than take the risk and cost of a foreclosure.
You also wrote, "Sellers should only be concerned how THEY THEMSELVES NET out" Well that's an easy one. The NET to the seller is the same in both cases. SQUAT! The only difference between being foreclosed on and doing a short sale is how it would affect their credit(short sale is a little better) and of course there could be tax and deficiency judgements to consider.
It is complicated and really needs to be understood ... there is NO room for On-The-Job-Training. There is potential for litigation if agents mis-handle a short-sale and it pushes the seller into foreclosure.
Currently we are writing a short-sale course.
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