All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Kinzle

@Mike Rice As long as the banks releases all the liens, you will get a clear title at closing.  Typically banks do a separate 3rd party appraisal and want as close to full market value as they can get on short sales.  Investors don't always make a lot on the front end on short sale purchases.  My investors like them because few regular home buyers will want to put up with the hassle of waiting for months to close.  Have your buyers' agent ask the listing agent if the price is pre-approved or not.  A pre-approved short sale price should close much faster, since the paperwork has mostly been done already.

@Ramadan Adili Welcome to BP!  You've found a great resource with a highly skilled group of investors.  I post in short sales and foreclosures too.  I'm in a broker here in Elgin as well.    

@Justin Pease I suggest Charles Rutenberg Realty of IL. Low desk fees, just $35 a month with 100% commission. You only pay a fee per transaction of $325. This is a Self service firm, you do all your own marketing, tech, advertising and find your own leads. For a part time agent, reduced fees matter. I've done the 50-50 brokerages, the 70-30 brokerages and now I'm up to 100%, but I have 10 years of experience. Newbies need training! If you want a team of supportive people, I strongly suggest Keller Williams. They have wonderful training, great tech, good support, mentoring and help whenever you need it. The Tanis group does major REO business, they do hundreds of deals, and Joe Mueller is a pro. But you can't buy what you're listing for investments. Congrats on your license!

@Ade Solanke Hi Ade, I've worked with Paul Haske as well.  I've also used Lauren Jackson for family law, estate planning and short sales.  She has offices in St. Charles and Elgin.  And Juli Jackson, with Jackson Abdalla Law Group, also in Elgin for short sales and real estate.  She's great at getting auctions postponed and handling evictions.  Hope that helps.  

@Ricky Clemmons No family member or friend can benefit from the short sale. It must be an arm's length transaction. To process a short sale, the property is also required to be listed on the MLS with a licensed Realtor, for exposure to the widest market, at the highest market price. The bank will seek a 3rd party appraisal to find the market value. The owner may qualify for short term help in the form of a loan modification. Some investors like to use a "subject to", to see if you can bring the mortgage current and take over payments.

@Denise Evans I have found Nationstar is a lot faster on response time than Citizen.  I've found them to be willing to listen to me on comps as when I say 30 showings and 0 offers = it's priced too high!.   Bottom line is net for them, as long as they get it, they seem to let a lot of things go.  On the other hand, Citizen raised the list price by $10K, and cut commissions, which is ridiculous, given the property condition and huge processing delays.  So far the buyer is patient, but the once a month file reviews are deal killers. 

@Deren Huang I work with several agents to list short sales and the longest so far was 13 months.  I've found Chase, Wells Fargo and Nationstar much easier to deal with in general.  Equator is helpful in keeping all parties on track and accountable.  When banks do not bother to check their files, I can keep them mostly on track. For example, Citizen bank "approved" the short sale in Oct, but as they only check the file 1x a month, feedback is limited, and we don't know if anything is missing for a very long time.   Then it is another 4 week wait to find out if the file moved through underwriting.  But, if the buyer is patient, they can get a really good deal. 

@Denise Evans Yes, the banks have not been interested in any comps for similar distressed sales, they want to see regular comps, even if the property is in poor condition.   

@Jordan Santiago 

Check out Fox Valley Short Sales.com for more info (consumer based site).  I'm a short sale listing agent and yes, they are a lot of extra paperwork hassle.  The average time to close on one is 4-6 months and there are typically deed restrictions to the buyer, causing more headaches, if it is an investment property.  

Often buyers will walk due to it taking too long. Most banks still haven't figured out that an appraisal value pulled from regular sales doesn't give a true picture what a buyer will pay for on a short sale, and I've had to go through great lengths with value disputes to get them to understand the real picture.  I've had as many as 30+ showings and zero offers due to their list price being outrageously high.  That being said, some short sales can offer discounts of 20-30% off market price, with some being in great condition.  It all depends on the area and the experience of the agent handling the deal.  Good luck!

@Shiv Choythani Hi Shiv,

The short sale process clears the debt for the sellers, but there is no way for them to profit from a short sale.  The sellers may qualify for relocation assistance from a federal program such as HAFA of up to $10,000 if they  still occupy the property.  But you need to walk them through the short sale process and let them know that there are never any guarantees of what the lender will agree to.  If you take the listing, be advised that it is an arm's length transaction, no one related to the seller can benefit from the sale ( as in a spouse buys the house).  A bona fide hardship is required to get a deal approved, so make sure they qualify for one.  

Short sales also take triple the amount of time to close, so be sure to have your short sale offer packet of paperwork ready to go when the buyer comes along finally to put in an offer.  Expect 4-6 months to close on a short sale from when the offer is received.  If this is your first short sale transaction, I'd suggest partnering with an experienced agent who has done them already to show you the ropes.  Most of the time, it's just lot of time and hassle to complete the paperwork and staying on top of the bank. 

Good luck!

@Account Closed Hi, it might be worth a trip down south.  I'm north of Utica/LaSalle, IL.  Let me know some details, I or someone I know might be available to handle it.