Educating Buyers on Short Sales

You have done your homework and decided what type of Ft. Lauderdale real estate best suits your lifestyle.  It is time to make some more decisions before you start actively searching for your dream home.  While looking through the listings you have found multiple properties that state they are “short sales” – do you have any idea what that means or what the process entails?

In extremely simplified terms – a short sale means that someone is offering their Ft. Lauderdale real estate for less than the amount of the current mortgage they hold.  This can be a good thing or it can be a total nightmare if you are not prepared for the process and everything entailed in purchasing a short sale property.  This is a situation where your Ft. Lauderdale real estate professional who is experienced in the short sale process is critical.  Not every Realtor is experienced in this area.  Just as you would not see a dentist if you had a stomach ache, you do not want a real estate professional who specializes in new construction if you are looking at a short sale property.

The short sale process can be overwhelming and is very confusing.  It is imperative that not only your Realtor is experienced in this area, but that your lender is as well.  A short sale can take as little as three weeks however, it normally takes many months and if you as a Ft. Lauderdale real estate buyer are not educated in the process – you can lose your dream home because of time it takes to get it approved.

Once you have found a Ft. Lauderdale real estate professional who knows the process inside and out – and that person has helped you thoroughly understand what you are getting yourself into, then and only then should you proceed with a short sale.  It helps if you look at properties that have already been pre-approved by the owning bank (or financial institution).  Ensure that the title to the property is free and clear and actually owned by the financial institution that has “pre-approved” the sale at the lower amount.  This is where the expertise of your Ft. Lauderdale real estate professional comes in.  He or she knows the right people to call and has the resources to confirm who holds the title to the property.

You also need your Ft. Lauderdale real estate professional to ensure that when an offer is made, that should it take too long or you find another home while you are awaiting an answer that you can take your offer off the table without losing any good faith deposits that you have put down.  Short sales can very tricky, but they can also be incredible deals if you have the time and patience to go through the process.  So make sure that your Ft. Lauderdale real estate professional has the experience necessary to deal with