Knowledge Builders

why does a short sale take so long

by Austin Dietrich Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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With a short sale, the seller is asking the bank to take less than the amount owed. Even if you've made an offer and the seller has accepted it, it's not a done deal. The seller's bank must approve the sale, and this is where the big delays can happen. Banks are losing money in a short sale and aren't too keen on it.Jan 11, 2016

Full Answer

Why does a short sale when selling a home?

A short sale typically occurs when the homeowner has fallen behind on the mortgage payments due to financial hardship. For the bank or other lender that owns the mortgage, a short sale is preferable to letting a home go into foreclosure. A short sale home can be a good opportunity for some buyers, but also presents challenges.

What are the steps to short sale?

There are many ways to negotiate a short sale but here are the basics steps that you need to accomplish: Find a Realtor experienced in short sales and hire them. Since many banks are requiring your property be listed for at least 60 to 90 days before they will consider a short sale... Send your bank ...

What are the requirements for a short sale?

What Are the Requirements for Buying Short Sale Homes or Foreclosures?

  • Financing. Having pre-approved financing for either a short-sale or foreclosure purchase is necessary in today’s market.
  • Credit. Work on getting your credit score as high as possible. ...
  • Short Sales. ...
  • Foreclosures. ...
  • Contingencies. ...
  • Negotiating Points. ...

What does an approved short sale mean?

  • A short sale does way less damage to a homeowner’s credit report and credit score than a foreclosure. ...
  • Homeowners have the dignity of being able to sell their own home. ...
  • A short sale enables homeowners to stay in the home until the sale is completed. ...

More items...

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Whats the longest a short sale can take?

A short sale may take up to 120 days, but this could be shorter or longer depending upon your specific situation. If you are unable to sell your home, you may be able to transfer the ownership of your property to the owner of your mortgage. This option is called a Mortgage Release or Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure).

Why do short sales take a long time?

Here's the short answer to why it takes so long to go through a short sale: There's little incentive for lenders to take a loss on the books until they absolutely have to do so, and lenders will want to make sure the borrower absolutely can't pay what he or she is supposed to pay.

How long does a short sell take?

A short sale can take up to six months to be approved because many factors can slow the process down. You might be able to reduce the time it takes to be approved by asking your agent for some information before making an offer.

How can I speed up a short sale?

Speed up your short sale closing date by making your offer as free of contingencies as possible. Submit your mortgage approval with the offer. Contribute a substantial deposit to show your good intentions.

How often do short sales get approved?

Even when the buyer and the seller have both signed the paperwork -- indicating a binding contract -- only about 40 percent of short sales ever close at all.

Can short sellers hold forever?

This is the opposite of a traditional long position where an investor hopes to profit from rising prices. There is no time limit on how long a short sale can or cannot be open for. Thus, a short sale is, by default, held indefinitely.

How long does it take to recover from a short sale?

As with other major derogatory events, it can take a long time for your credit scores to recover from a short sale. It may be several years before your score fully recovers if you previously had a good credit score. Or, you may have to wait the full seven years if you had an excellent score.

Whats a typical reason that a seller might opt for a short sale?

In real estate, a short sale may take place when an owner sells a house at a price that is less than the outstanding mortgage amount. This typically happens when the owner is under financial stress and is behind on mortgage payments.

How many days short sellers cover?

Days to cover are calculated by taking the number of currently shorted shares and dividing that amount by the average daily trading volume for the company in question. For example, if investors have shorted 2 million shares of ABC and its average daily volume is 1 million shares, then the days to cover is two days.

Why do short sales fall through?

In many cases, short sales go through because the market is faltering, and the home's value has dropped accordingly. The price the buyer is paying must usually be at market value. Short sales need to be disclosed. Finally, when a home is listed for less than what's owed on the mortgage, that must be disclosed upfront.

How do you lose on a short sale?

Example of Short Selling for a Loss If the trader decides to close the short position at $65, the loss on the short sale would be $1,500: ($50 - $65 = negative $15 x 100 shares = $1,500 loss). Here, the trader had to buy back the shares at a significantly higher price to cover their position.

How can a short sale affect a seller?

Credit Standing The lender will report the short sale to credit-reporting bureaus, who will show the transaction as an unpaid and uncollected debt. This will affect the short-seller's credit score unless the deficiency is repaid or otherwise settled.

Why are short sales difficult?

Short sales are a mixed bag for the buyer, the seller and the lender. If you're a seller, a short sale is likely to damage your credit — but not as badly as a foreclosure. You'll also walk away from your home without a penny from the deal, making it difficult for you to find and pay for another place to live.

Why short selling is difficult?

Shorting stocks is a way to profit from falling stock prices. A fundamental problem with short selling is the potential for unlimited losses. Shorting is typically done using margin and these margin loans come with interest charges, which you have pay for as long as the position is in place.

Why is shorting more difficult for short sellers?

Short selling is difficult because you are betting against the upwards bias, at least in the stock market. Even worse, you need to pay interest for the privilege of selling short. Additionally, all markets tend to drop fast when they do fall, while most markets rise slowly and gradually.

Why do short sales fall through?

Banks may reject offers when the price is low, the seller or buyer doesn't qualify, the application is incomplete, or the loan has already been sold.

How to approve a short sale?

In order to approve the sale, the lender requests a complete short sale “package” from the seller. Much like the package you must submit to get a loan, the seller must submit their finances. The lender will want to see the seller’s debts and assets, review their credit score and the contract to purchase the home. After all, why would a bank approve a short sale if the seller had $1 million sitting in the bank?

How many pages are needed for a short sale?

Most banks require hundreds of pages in the short sale package, and many of those pages require signatures from buyers, sellers and agents. If one page is missing or one signature left blank, the document doesn’t get processed. Often, the listing agent will fax in 100 pages and just wait. Sometimes it will take a month to get a response from the bank, informing the agent that things are missing.

Why Does Short Sale Take So Long?

Many real estate agents are saddled with this question from their prospective clients. Their clients have always asked why sales take so long, and many have no justifications for their answer.

How Long Does Short Sale Approval Take?

This might depend on the bank. Some banks can get approval for l as many as 30 days, while some can take up to 90 days.

How long does it take to get a mortgage approved?

Getting mortgage approval can take the seller some fewer weeks (maximum 6 weeks).

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1.Why Do Short Sales Take So Long? - Zillow Porchlight

Url:https://www.zillow.com/blog/why-do-short-sales-take-so-long-114341/

15 hours ago  · With a short sale, the seller is asking the bank to take less than the amount owed. Even if you’ve made an offer and the seller has accepted it, it’s not a done deal. The seller’s …

2.Why Do Short Sales Take So Long? | Fox Business

Url:https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/why-do-short-sales-take-so-long

35 hours ago  · Short sales happen because the loan on the property is larger than the sale price minus all the sale expenses. With a short sale, the seller is asking the bank to take less than …

3.Why Does Short Sale Take So Long? | The Real Estate …

Url:https://therealestatedecision.com/why-does-short-sale-take-so-long/

20 hours ago  · Some banks can get approval for l as many as 30 days, while some can take up to 90 days. Other things that can be a problem to the approval process could also be if the …

4.Why Do Short Sales Take So Long? - TheStreet

Url:https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/mortgages/why-do-short-sales-take-so-long-12792295

32 hours ago  · Short sales happen because the loan on the property is larger than the sale price minus all the sale expenses. With a short sale, the seller is asking the bank to take less than …

5.Why Do Short Sales Take So Long? - HAR.com

Url:https://www.har.com/blog_67483_why-do-short-sales-take-so-long

34 hours ago  · Approval times and deadlines can make your short sale take much longer than you anticipated. Short sales are, unfortunately, a necessary process for individuals whose home …

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