BiggerPockets

Hi all. Well we are living in Florida near Jacksonville and we are having to do a short sale on our house. It is valued at 50,000 less than what we paid for it a couple years ago. We are now selling it for 145,000 which is what it has been appraised for. We have to move because my husband is in the military.. So we are hoping to be able to find a buyer and get a short sale approved so we can both move next summer. We have had our house on the market for over a month now and have had absolutely no interest in it. I really do think this is because its a short sale and most people dont want to have to wait. What I am hearing is that real estate investors are the only ones who are willing to wait on a short sale.. So my question is, how do we get the investors interested in our house? Or is there a way to do this? I just feel like this might be the only way we are going to sell this house.. Are most real estate investors mainly looking for foreclosures instead of short sales?

By the way, our house is a 2 story , 2000 sq ft home, outside of Jacksonville FL.. We have made quite a few upgrades like tile floors, sprinkler system and a big backyard, ceiling fans, new light fixtures, new paint... It is in very good condition.

Anyway, Im not sure if anyone can help me here, but just thought Id see if any of you have any advice.

Thanks!!

Jennifer

I am in the same boat, but there isn't much you can really do besides cont. to lower the price and hope the bank accepts the offer.

Here's the problem:

A short sale is a huge hassle. Buyers are only willing to go through all the trouble to get a good bargain.

If your house is appraised at $145,000, and you are trying to get $145,000, then it isn't worth the work to push it through a short sale. If the appraised value is $145,000 that means there are other similar houses out there selling for $145,000 on just a regular sale, no need to fuss with the banks.

Your price will have to be noticably under market value before anyone wants to do all the extra work to get it as a short sale.

Think about it. You aren't getting anything from the sale, so why does it matter if the bank gets less. Just make sure that the bank agrees in advance not to come after you for the unpaid balance.

This is the First time I have ever hit advanced reply because this is going to be a long one. Lets start at the top here

Jennifer,

The first problem you are having is yes your normal buyers are being pushed into other directions because of the time frame on the Short Sale. Which leads you to another problem the lender will not even talk to you unless there is a offer on the property. Which in most cases leads back to the other problem where Home Buyers are staying away from Short Sales. So you need a offer to get the process started (I offer 99k) If you get a offer to the lender and they say no to it you can generally get the lender to agree to a amount. Once that is done then you can advertise the property and say "Short Sale Approved." Then your house will sell!

Nationwidepi,

It is hard to tell if the property is priced to high by the info given Jennifer said its $50k less then it was 2 years ago. And now its at $145,000 Who knows what it was before wait I bet it was right around $195k Hard to tell without the comps.

Justin,

Same deal if you need a offer.

Matt,

Once again great post.

P NW,
The problem is it dropped for $195,000 to $145,000 That is the reason for the short sale.

Caleb,

Last month we were at 72.67% on 212 Short Sales.

Hope this helps.

Rob

She must have called you direct because when she posts

By the way, our house is a 2 story , 2000 sq ft home, outside of Jacksonville FL.. We have made quite a few upgrades like tile floors, sprinkler system and a big backyard, ceiling fans, new light fixtures, new paint... It is in very good condition.

There is no way to tell off of that!