Making offers on short sales "subject to finding an end-buyer."

[Herm M.]

So I've read that we need to put a contingency in our offer to the short-sale lender. This contingency will say something along the lines of "this contract is valid if, and only if, the investor (buyer) is able to find an end-buyer for the property."

That way, we can get out of the contract if the end-buyer can't close the transaction.

Is this accurate?

Assuming it is....what is the rejection rate of these offers? How likely is it that the short-sale lender will accept this type of offer?

The A-B transaction will be funded by a transactional lender.

The end-buyer needs to be approved for a conventional loan first, of course. So is it a good idea to include their loan approval and/or credit report with the A-B offer, showing the short-sale lender that there is a serious end-buyer who is qualified? Will that help get the offer accepted?

And damn, am I the only one who likes creating threads in this forum??

[Jon Holdman]

Lets reword that contingency to keep the meaning, but make it a little more apparent what's happening: "This offer only valid if I can find someone who will pay me 5% more than I'm paying you. Sorry, I know you're taking it in the shorts on this sale, but I will only buy if I can make my cut."

What do you think. Will the bank accept that?

If you're going to make an offer on a short sale you better be able to close. I'm not concerned about the bank, they will look out for their interests. But you get a homeowner on the hook in a deal like this, and you need to close. If you can't find a buyer, find the money and buy it yourself.