Sally English Atlanta Real Estate: Short Sales push Buyers and Sellers into EXTRA Innings

Short Sales push Buyers and Sellers into EXTRA Innings

I am a huge baseball fan and have been following the Atlanta Braves since I was a teenager.  If the Braves are on TV, I usually have the game on TV or radio while I go about whatever work or travel is at hand.  Extra innings are sometimes a good thing.  If your team was behind and you managed to tie the game in the ninth inning you would agree.  And of course, the team that gave up the tying run in the ninth is disappointed to have to play extra innings and are not so happy about the opportunity to extend the competition.

After working short sales for most of the spring, I have come to appreciate the opportunity to do a short sale for listings where my clients are faced with imminent foreclosure and the loss of their home.  Short sales are providing an outlet for these owners to get out of real estate investments gone bad.  The process is mind numbingly long and complex and I am proud of the sellers who have the stamina to stick it out.  Their credit history and ratings will be dinged but they will not take the same hit as those who go through foreclosure.  Extra Innings have helped most of them achieve a sale that otherwise would not have occurred (or occurred on the courthouse steps at the foreclosure auction).

EXTRA INNINGS

My buyers have likewise benefited from the short sale options presented to them.  Getting lenders to even look at offers is a major chore (much less get an answer).  The process can take a couple of months from the time the offer has been submitted.  Very few traditional buyers can put up with this frustrating process.  However, the investors don't mind so much and some of them have bagged amazing deals.  The buyers who get answers from lenders are winners in extra innings.  The buyers who just can't deal with the lender bureaucracy are not loving the "extra innings" of short sales.

Bottom line, the extra innings of short sales are usually worth it.  It can be a frustrating process.  Lenders have overly complicated the process and put major obstacles in the path to success.  But, if you can stick it out, you will be a winner.