Long Island Short Sales: “Approved” Short Sales

When you’re browsing through Long Island short sales, don’t fall victim to the “approved” short sale hype. In this article, I will feature one very important aspect of a short sale that will help you determine if a particular short sale is worth pursuing. I’ve seen home listings on MLS that say “approved short sale” for three, four, even six months.

In order to capitalize on a property that is being sold as a short sale, you must cut through all the “smoke and mirrors” in order to make it happen. As a real estate agent, many times I will come across listings that say “approved short sale” and buyers will inquire about these properties. An approved short sale is when an agent, owner and/or attorney has submitted some form of contract or purchase binder to the owners bank for approval.

Now one thing to keep in mind is, short sales are extremely complex transactions involving multiple investors and many levels of approval, not to mention, issues with the home itself. Issues like certificates of occupancy, surveys, title, and mainly, the sellers ability to fully cooperate in a timely fashion. So an “approved” short sale is all relative to many items.

That piece of information is important in and of itself. Basically just having the knowledge of all the different variables/obstacles can make the difference between wasting your time and being able to move on from something because it’s just too messy.

But I promised one piece of information that will be helpful for you when evaluating an “approved” short sale listing.

When talking with the agent, if you simply ask them when the short sale was approved and what happened to the deal that feel apart, this will absolutely get you valuable information. Now, of course, if you don’t know what the agent is talking about, that’s where a professional real estate agent can help.

But I’m feeling extra nice right now, so I’ll give you one thing to listen for…the time. How long has it been “approved”? That’s very important in determining where things are with the short sale.

I cannot stress to you enough though, that there are multiple questions to get the right information and to build a complete picture. If you don’t do that, you stand the risk of getting involved in something that will suck up a lot of your valuable time. Seeking the services of a professional that understands the short sale business is paramount.

I wish you happy hunting…