Short sales are complicated, so the first time home buyers in Raleigh and the Triangle sometimes shy away from them. A short sale requires the elements of a normal sale where the buyer and seller have to agree on a price and terms. Then, the contract has to be approved by the lender that has a lien on the house i.e. the seller’s lender has to agree to the price and terms. That lender has to agree to take the net proceeds of the sale and allow the sale to close in return for that “short” payment. The payment is short, the time it takes to get the banks approval frequent is anything but short. So, many Raleigh and Cary first time homebuyers do not have the patience to wait for the approval.
In addition to the time to get the approval, the approval is not guaranteed. Nationwide, only 27% of short sales are approved. So, if you focus on the national averages, you have a little over 1 chance in 4 to get your Triangle short sale approved. However, you should not apply the national average to the Triangle, as our listing agents are better trained so more Raleigh short sales are approved. The agent who repreresents the seller, called the listing agent, is the biggest factor in getting the short sale approved. So, the Triangle first time homebuyer needs to look at who has the property listed, as that agent is the one who processes the short sale with the lender. For example, you can count the number of short sales that I have failed to get approved on your fingers i.e. I get nearly all of them approved. There are other Raleigh agents with high “batting averages” for short sale approvals.
Short Sales give a buyer the opportunity to get a good home at a great price. Triangle first time homebuyers need to choose wisely when they are deciding whether to make an offer on a Triangle short sale property and not only look at the property but check the listing agent.
The best summary of this point is presented by Rang, a first time homebuyer. Please let me know what you think of first time homebuyers purchasing short sale properties.
