I wouldn’t take it as a given that the bank won’t deal with you. I think you have nothing to lose by being assertive with low offers. Maybe it will help keep you on the sidelines until fate deals you the house you are really hoping to find at a great price or maybe you will get something started with your “low ball”.

In your case you are looking for an above average home and for quite a few things in and about it to satisfy your personal tastes and perhaps those of your wife. You are also reasonably price concious.Because of this combination, you probably ought to offer as low as you want to on all and all homes you find that you like, including short sales. If you were looking for a more average home I would say focus on REO only.

If I were in your shoes(having read most of you posts) I would write low offers and move on. Go back to the properties that you have liked enough to offer on several months later and ask the sellers “what do you think about my offer now?” I guess some people might not be crazy about doing that in a neighborhood they are going to eventually live in.

One other thing you might consider, if you haven’t yet, is buying the house you like and adding the casita(s). It might open the possibities a little. Unfortunately, second houses on one legal A.P.N. don’t seem to add much value. Word to the wise, don’t think about gaining any equity above and beyond your costs this way. I think the second house makes a place more saleable though. Maybe the appraiser “Bugs” has something to say on this matter, if you want to ask.

I wouldn’t take it as a given that the bank won’t deal with you. I think you have nothing to lose by being assertive with low offers. Maybe it will help keep you on the sidelines until fate deals you the house you are really hoping to find at a great price or maybe you will get something started with your “low ball”.

In your case you are looking for an above average home and for quite a few things in and about it to satisfy your personal tastes and perhaps those of your wife. You are also reasonably price concious.Because of this combination, you probably ought to offer as low as you want to on all and all homes you find that you like, including short sales. If you were looking for a more average home I would say focus on REO only.

If I were in your shoes(having read most of you posts) I would write low offers and move on. Go back to the properties that you have liked enough to offer on several months later and ask the sellers “what do you think about my offer now?” I guess some people might not be crazy about doing that in a neighborhood they are going to eventually live in.

One other thing you might consider, if you haven’t yet, is buying the house you like and adding the casita(s). It might open the possibities a little. Unfortunately, second houses on one legal A.P.N. don’t seem to add much value. Word to the wise, don’t think about gaining any equity above and beyond your costs this way. I think the second house makes a place more saleable though. Maybe the appraiser “Bugs” has something to say on this matter, if you want to ask.

Raptor –

I can only give you my own personal experience and I am not an “REO or short sale specialist”… I am just a guy.

On the listing side I have 1 listing right now that is a short sale and we received an offer about 3 weeks ago. It has been a constant battle with the lender. Every step has been very tough, from dealing with the loan workout group, to the short sale asset manager in charge of this particular sale. It has taken about 2 weeks for them just to confirm they have the entire short sale package just to BEGIN the review process. I have also spent ALOT of time sending additional information to justify the short sale pricing. This is hard because the comps DO NOT justify the price so I have to show the lender that the TREND is going to be where the offer price is at some point in the future. Not an easy task. The bottom line is that as the listing agent for the short sale, if I was not pestering the asset manager pretty much every day, this sale would have been punted awhile ago. I did succeed in getting the trustee sale delayed from 11/29 to 1/2/08. Now the offer we received is about 15% below the latest comp. The latest comp is an REO that is another 10% below the other sold comps in the area of which there are very few. The short sale asset manager told me that even with all my effort he will likely not approve this short sale and is not sure he will even counter.

On the purchase side I have 2 short sale offers submitted over 8 weeks ago now. NO response from either of them. I know why, it is either because the listing agents have not been motivated to spend countless hours dealing with the asset managers to push it along or the lenders just don’t give a damn. One of the clients who submitted the short sale offer already gave up and purchased another home.

I have another person who is on the cusp of submitting offers on properties that are selling short in the 25-30% below the listing price category. I will submit the offers but I am not sure we will receive a response.

*************

Getting back to your situation I would say what I always say. It always is worth taking a chance. What do you have to lose? Have your agent write it up, send it in, and then keep your search active. In a few weeks or months you will get a response.

SD Realtor

Raptor –

I can only give you my own personal experience and I am not an “REO or short sale specialist”… I am just a guy.

On the listing side I have 1 listing right now that is a short sale and we received an offer about 3 weeks ago. It has been a constant battle with the lender. Every step has been very tough, from dealing with the loan workout group, to the short sale asset manager in charge of this particular sale. It has taken about 2 weeks for them just to confirm they have the entire short sale package just to BEGIN the review process. I have also spent ALOT of time sending additional information to justify the short sale pricing. This is hard because the comps DO NOT justify the price so I have to show the lender that the TREND is going to be where the offer price is at some point in the future. Not an easy task. The bottom line is that as the listing agent for the short sale, if I was not pestering the asset manager pretty much every day, this sale would have been punted awhile ago. I did succeed in getting the trustee sale delayed from 11/29 to 1/2/08. Now the offer we received is about 15% below the latest comp. The latest comp is an REO that is another 10% below the other sold comps in the area of which there are very few. The short sale asset manager told me that even with all my effort he will likely not approve this short sale and is not sure he will even counter.

On the purchase side I have 2 short sale offers submitted over 8 weeks ago now. NO response from either of them. I know why, it is either because the listing agents have not been motivated to spend countless hours dealing with the asset managers to push it along or the lenders just don’t give a damn. One of the clients who submitted the short sale offer already gave up and purchased another home.

I have another person who is on the cusp of submitting offers on properties that are selling short in the 25-30% below the listing price category. I will submit the offers but I am not sure we will receive a response.

*************

Getting back to your situation I would say what I always say. It always is worth taking a chance. What do you have to lose? Have your agent write it up, send it in, and then keep your search active. In a few weeks or months you will get a response.

SD Realtor

Raptor –

I can only give you my own personal experience and I am not an “REO or short sale specialist”… I am just a guy.

On the listing side I have 1 listing right now that is a short sale and we received an offer about 3 weeks ago. It has been a constant battle with the lender. Every step has been very tough, from dealing with the loan workout group, to the short sale asset manager in charge of this particular sale. It has taken about 2 weeks for them just to confirm they have the entire short sale package just to BEGIN the review process. I have also spent ALOT of time sending additional information to justify the short sale pricing. This is hard because the comps DO NOT justify the price so I have to show the lender that the TREND is going to be where the offer price is at some point in the future. Not an easy task. The bottom line is that as the listing agent for the short sale, if I was not pestering the asset manager pretty much every day, this sale would have been punted awhile ago. I did succeed in getting the trustee sale delayed from 11/29 to 1/2/08. Now the offer we received is about 15% below the latest comp. The latest comp is an REO that is another 10% below the other sold comps in the area of which there are very few. The short sale asset manager told me that even with all my effort he will likely not approve this short sale and is not sure he will even counter.

On the purchase side I have 2 short sale offers submitted over 8 weeks ago now. NO response from either of them. I know why, it is either because the listing agents have not been motivated to spend countless hours dealing with the asset managers to push it along or the lenders just don’t give a damn. One of the clients who submitted the short sale offer already gave up and purchased another home.

I have another person who is on the cusp of submitting offers on properties that are selling short in the 25-30% below the listing price category. I will submit the offers but I am not sure we will receive a response.

*************

Getting back to your situation I would say what I always say. It always is worth taking a chance. What do you have to lose? Have your agent write it up, send it in, and then keep your search active. In a few weeks or months you will get a response.

SD Realtor

SD Realtor,

Thanks very much for sharing your experience on short sales. That was very informative. No wonder both realtors & buyers hate dealing with short sales.

This explains why many listings have the following in the description:

“This is a bank owned property, NOT a short sale.”

SD Realtor,

Thanks very much for sharing your experience on short sales. That was very informative. No wonder both realtors & buyers hate dealing with short sales.

This explains why many listings have the following in the description:

“This is a bank owned property, NOT a short sale.”