In the last few months this blog has focused on changes in the traditional residential real estate market. Here in Massachusetts buyers are finding housing prices beginning to rise and sellers are benefitting from competition over few available properties. While some people are able to buy their dream homes from the available pool of traditional sale homes, others are forced to look at alternative markets.
Some people who may be struggling to find homes that meet their needs and that are also in their price ranges may consider looking at short sale homes. Short sales are real estate sales that allow homeowners to sell their properties for less than their mortgages as an alternative to experiencing foreclosures. Buyers of short sales should be warned, however, that there is rarely anything short about the process of purchasing such a property.
A couple recently waited almost an entire year before being able to close on their short sale purchase. While both the husband and wife were employed in stable jobs and diligently filled out all of the paperwork required by the banks that held mortgages on the property, they felt that they were forced to accommodate some redundant requests by the lenders in order to satisfy the requirements of the purchase process.
The couple noted that they were able to rely on their real estate professional to manage the daily requests and requirements of the property’s lenders. Due to the incredible amount of time and detail that was required to engage in the short sale process, the couple benefitted greatly from securing the help of a trusted professional.
Now the homeowners of their dream property, the couple is pleased that they endured the year-long process of purchasing a short sale property. Individuals with patience and a long moving timeline may consider making offers on short sale real estate in order to find great deals on otherwise high priced pieces of real estate.
Source: North Jersey Record, “Northvale couple finds ‘short sale’ can be a long road,” Donna Rolando, June 16, 2013