How Short Sales Work

Overview of  Short Sale Process – Goal:  Avoiding Foreclosure

The short sale process generally follows the following steps.    For a more detailed description see “detailed description” below:

Start> Short sale consultation> Listing appointment> Marketing of the property> Purchase offer selected by home owner and forwarded to lien holder(s) for review and approval> Lien holder(s) and home owner agree on terms of the short sale> Acknowledgement of terms presented to buyer> Escrow opens> Escrow closes> Finish

Pre-Listing

1. Please contact Jeff’s office for a brief consultation about short sales.  Jeff or one of his team members will collect some basic information about your situation.
2. A tentative appointment will be scheduled to answer questions and/or list the home for sale in the short sale process.
3. Jeff and his team will prepare a short sale packet which will be sent to you either via FEDEX, regular mail or email.  We provide a thorough packet of information in advance of the appointment so you have the opportunity to evaluate our process and have your questions answered in advance.  If what we send you and what we discuss prior to the appointment makes sense and you feel comfortable and confident to go forward with the short sale process, our appointment will be confirmed. The packet will include:
   • Information about the short sale process.
   • Market data on the value of your home in today’s market.
   • Recommended short sale pricing.
   • Listing contract and related forms.
   • Property detail report from the county assessor’s office.
4. The appointment.  Jeff will either come to your house to receive the documents or they can be returned via fax or email. We can do listing appointments via telephone or email if necessary.
5. Once we receive a signed listing agreement we will begin the short sale process.

1. Your home will be listed immediately on the Multiple Listing Service.  An authorization form will be submitted to your lien holder(s) enabling us to speak to them on your behalf.  Unless previously provided, the lien holder(s) will provide their short sale requirements when the authorization is received.
2. We will market your home through various affiliated web sites (ie. PMZ.com, REALTOR.com, Trulia.com, Refin.com, Metrolist.com, BayEast etc.)  and all other applicable marketing strategies.
3. During the marketing period we will receive offers and present them to you as they are received.
   • Offers will be presented to you on an offers spreadsheet. (Click on link to see a sample).
   • You will be able to see the net offers as they come in.  We highlight, in yellow, the current highest net offer.
   • You will sign the purchase offer of your choosing.  We will advise you as to what appears to be the strongest offer.  We will encourage you to consider two important factors:  price and the willingness of the buyer to wait for the short sale process to complete, rather than back out in the middle of the process.
4. You will select and sign the offer that is most likely to meet the lien holder(s)’ criteria for a short payoff of your loan.

1. After you select an offer it will be signed by you and presented to your lien holder(s) along with your financial information establishing your hardship.  This is the official beginning of the short sale processing phase.
2. You can track your short sale offer, as it is processed, online at our Short Sale List Spreadsheet.
3. Documents go through a processing period and are assigned to a negotiator.
4. A BPO (Broker’s Price Opinion) or appraisal will be ordered by the negotiator.  This BPO is used to determine the value of your home and whether or not the net proceeds of the offer are sufficient to satisfy the lien holder and/or investors and thus provide a short pay off of the loan(s).
5. The negotiator will evaluate your financial situation to determine whether or not you qualify for a short sale.  The offer will be presented to the investors or to management.  They will decide if your short sale is approved or not.
6. The negotiator will report the response of the investors.  There will be one of three options:  Short Sale Approval, Short Sale Approval with Conditions or Denial.  If any answer other than Short Sale Approval is provided, we will negotiate further on your behalf.
7. After all negotiations are complete, you will either accept or reject the terms of the short sale.
8. Written short sale notification is delivered to the buyer’s agent and Escrow begins.

1. Escrows in short sales generally follow the same process as a regular escrow.  One difference is that the short sale approval has a “good through” date by which time the short sale must be finalized and escrow must be closed.
2. When escrow begins you will need to make plans to be moved out of the house by the close of escrow.

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