Short Sale Cons:

So, youʼre a buyer interested in purchasing a home. With that you have a background

story. Are you selling a home in another city and need to find a new home quickly? Are

you leasing an apartment and the lease expires in two months and so you hope to

purchase prior to the expiration? Do you have any time frame in mind at all with regards

to purchasing your home? If the answer is “yes”, then a “short sale” is definitely not for

you. Any time frames at all go completely out the window with “shorts sales”. As

previously mentioned a “short sale” can take anywhere from 3-9 months to be approved

by the sellerʼs bank and I have known cases where a bank has taken over 12 months to

issue an approval. Would you wish to wait a typical 3-9 months to find out that the

sellerʼs bank thinks your offer is too low and counters your offer $15,000 higher? Would

you wish to wait 3-9 months to find out the seller doesnʼt qualify for a “short sale”

because he has too much cash in the bank? Would you like to wait 3-9 months to find

out that the “short sale” approval letter has been issued by the sellerʼs bank but the

sellers donʼt want to proceed with the sale as they are in disagreement with their bank

as to the conditions of the “short sale”? Lastly, is not knowing whether you will be

moving in 3 months or 12 months something that you can realistically contend with? If

you can, then great. If not, I would avoid “short sales” and stick to traditional sellers and

bank owned homes, even if this means limiting the options you have to choose from.

Okay, so Iʼm looking to buy, is a “short sale” right for me?

If you are looking to purchase a home you will need to consider the pros and cons

involved with purchasing a “short sale”.

Short Sale Pros:

With upwards of 40% of the homes for sale in some of central Floridaʼs cities being

“short sales”, this type of sale may be hard to avoid. Consider this, you find a

neighborhood that is perfect for you. The ideal distance from work, good schools for the

kids and homes at affordable prices. However, what if there are only 5 homes for sale in

that neighborhood? Looking at the previously mentioned statistics chances are 2 are

traditional sellers, 1 is a bank owned home and 2 are “short sales”. Not looking at “short

sales” will most definitely cut down on the homes you have to choose from.

Furthermore, short sales are less likely to have multiple other offers to compete with and

are generally priced lower than the traditional sellers.

However, before thinking short sales are a great way to go be sure to take a look at the

cons.