rmasse10's Blog: Tampa Short Sale

Well, the Tampa Real Estate market is running at full speed as well as the Tampa Foreclosures and Tampa Short Sale market.  But the problem still remains with the banks.  Some banks have gotten very good at short sales, some still can't figure out their butt from their elbow.  I have a listing that is under contract, it is a short sale, the Bank involved start with 'ity' and ends with 'ank' if you know what  I mean, I have had a contract in with them for about 4 weeks, they acknowledge the offer, the acknowledge the paperwork for me to speak on behalf of the borrower, but trying to get a single name of who has this account is where the problem is.  They call my seller twice a week and every time they call, he gets a different name of who is responsible for…

An email I just received from GTAR (Greater Tampa Association of Realtors) shows the following in the Headline:

(1) EXISTING HOME SALES UP A WHOPPING 76% SINCE  JANUARY, 2008
(2) INVENTORY DOWN 5.5% SINCE JANUARY 2008
(3) MONTHS OF INVENTORY DOWN 54% SINCE JANUARY 2008
(4) AVERAGE SALES PRICE DOWN TO $227,565
(5) AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET UP FROM 124 IN MAY TO 152 IN JUNE

This is excellent news for the Tampa Real Estate Market in both home sales and Tampa Foreclosures.  The main reason for the drop in average sales price is due to Banks accepting their loss on either property they own thru the Foreclosure process or losses they have accepted due to the Short Sale Process.  These properties when they close, regardless, set new comparatives for the market…

An ongoing issue in todays market, especially in the Tampa Foreclosures and Tampa Short Sales market... is the waiting.  These deals are not an overnight transaction.  You will need to hurry up, wait, then hurry up again.  Here is what I mean.  The desire for alot of these properties is great so the bidding will be fierce.  Make sure you put your best foot forward and make the best offer that you can because alot of times, you will only have one shot at it.  Then after this frenzy, you will need to take a back seat and wait...at times up to 60-90 days for an answer.  But here is the catch, if and when the bank give you the green light, you need to move things into high gear again and get everything done in quick time.  The bank has made their decision…

I have been negotiating short sales for some time now and would like to give all you out there some advice that seems to work for me.  Our Short Sale Conversion Rate has been greater than 85% and we have done probably around 20-30 right now so not bad considering the statistics I keep hearing are around 10% conversion or less.

It is kind of interesting to hear the term Short Sale as most people have no idea what that really means.  Most people think it is a sale that will happen quickly...guess again.  A short sale is a term that implies that the Owner of the property is short on funds for repaying the loan.  In our board, the Seller and Buyer must sign the contract first and then submit it to the bank for third party approval.  This may take a very long time as the bank has to decide how much money they are willing to lose.

On the other hand, a Tampa Bank Owned Home or Tampa REO are homes that have gone thru the foreclosure process, the bank has reclaimed the property, it did not sell at auction and the bank has absorbed the loss.  A sales price is set and you have no third…