5 Ways To Speed Up A Short Sale After Writing An Offer

5 Ways to speed up a Reno and Sparks short sale when you’re already in contract.

Last week I posted on how long short sale take and what you can do to find the fast ones. Those blog posts can be viewed through the following links.

How Long Do Reno and Sparks Short Sales Take

8 Ways to Speed Up A Short Sale Before You Write An Offer

Today I’m going to provide a few tips on how to speed up the short sale once you’re in contract.

1. Update Your Pre-Approval Letter: Often times lenders will ask for an updated pre-approval letter from the buyer’s lender. They do this in order to insure the buyer is still able to purchase the property while the file is being negotiated. Have your lender provide your agent an updated approval letter every 30 days so it can be quickly faxed to the bank’s negotiator. If you have to go back and contact your lender each time one is requested it can take 4-5 days to complete the process. This could add 1-2 weeks of extra waiting if you’re in a 3-5 month short sale.

2. Keep Your Loan Documentation Handy: Everyone hates sifting through their files to find old tax returns and pay stubs as part of the loan application process but it has to be done. Create a special file with all documentation your lender will need to start your loan application. Keep adding to that file anytime you receive a new pay stub, tax return, bank account statement, etc. The time you save in providing documentation to your lender will help speed up the escrow process.

3. Set The List Price At The Contract Price: Ask the seller to adjust the list price to the current contract price to help with negotiations. With comps being all over the board agents, that do BPOs, may have a tough time coming down to a good value range on the home. Right or wrong, they tend to come in at or around the list price. Having both the contract price and list price near each other may help stave off any counter offers from the bank that tend to add weeks to the process.

Also, you might want to have your agent attend the BPO and provide comps to justify your offer price.

4. Update! Update! Update!: Have your agent check in with the listing agent weekly. Most agents are good at keeping communication open and following up promptly with the banks but some become busy and may not be staying on the bank. Even an update with no useful information is good as it’s a constant reminder that the file needs to be taken care of.

5. Set Expectations: This is probably the biggest one. Going into a short sale in hopes of moving into your home in two months will cause grief and stress. Have your agent walk you through the whole process and let you know what to expect. As a buyer, you need to understand that all your worry and anxiousness will do nothing to speed things up. Though being relaxed and calm won’t actually speed up the sale it will make it seem smoother and hopefully some what painless. Inevitably, you’re at the mercy of the bank so the perception of the process you carry is huge.

For more information on buying or selling a home in Reno or Sparks contact Broker Kent at (775) 870-4280 or Kris@Reno-Realty.com
 
 

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