Here’s what I’ve gleaned from the realtor. The house went into escrow in Feb and then fell thru. In July we found it and actually met the owner the day we made the offer. She told the realtor she wanted us to have the house. (I had a RE license before and a rule I heard was you never let the owner meet the buyer). But in a short sale the owner is the bank and the “resident” needs to “qualify” for a short sale.
In this case it was the death of the husband. Still shakes me to think of the toll this taking on the wife. Reality really isn’t fair.
She signed the paperwork and the realtor presented it to the negotiator…which changes every offer (I think). He is an experienced short sale realtor…WHICH IS A MUST! He still talks smack about the last offer he got shirked out of because of the phase of the moon and it’s effect on the negotiator. Don’t talk to the rookies if you love the house…you’ll be pissed. Cause rookies will F it up. I was up front about VA as well and the REA was a vet so he had compassion. Seriously the REA didn’t care anymore he just wanted a buyer and a seller to be happy.
I had worked another offer with a mortgage broker and she had all my qual info in standby. It was quick when my REA met my broker. It was quick with a few doc updates and a presentation to the bank and maybe a month later the bank gave us approval…..great email day that was!!!!
So we got the appraisal.(BTW in Monterey County there is only one VA appraiser and it can take up to a month for an appraisal). Off season…took a week. We did everything by the book and the VA appraiser, home inspector and all involved gave it green light. So we built a fire in the fireplace, popped some MORE wine and waited. When can we tell the landlord(tonite I called). We were supposed to close by the 15th…signed an extension to the 1st. Friday night and silence! Sleep tonite will be alcohol induced..again. UNTIL YOU SIGN THE PAPERS YOUR WORLD WILL NOT BE A COMFORTABLE PLACE!! This is not an overstatement! My realtor told me about the last deal….it didn’t go well.
THEN WITH THIS DEAL….the bank tells him he will only get 3% commission. He didn’t care. It wasn’t about the money. He wanted a widow and a happy couple to make a life bearable. I have total respect for the guy. He’s impeccable.
What you should do….make an offer on a house you might want….go through the paperwork drill and don’t fax or email thing. DO IT ALL IN PERSON. Get a working relationship with the person that presents your paperwork. If you are uncomfortable find somebody else. The short sale paperwork has to be BULLETPROOF! NO DEPOSITS OR QUESTIONABLE TRANSFERS. Lots of cash(5 figures) in the bank and a six figure retirement savings helps. I’m no rich guy just an average guy doing an average job.
Be generous with your money. If the realtor calls and says he’s got a guy that’ll do the work for 500 bucks tell him to go ahead and bring him a check for the work. TRUST! My loan is for 450K. I’ve got 5K for the tip jar.
BUT until this is over the deal isn’t done. I’ll let you know when we sign the papers…are you able to cope with that stress? It’s all about the kitchen and the garage and a nice deep tub to soak in! Hope this helps and have a happy holiday season.
