Short Sales in Idaho >> A Buyers Tutorial

THIS PAGE IS FOR BUYERS CONSIDERING INVESTING IN IDAHO SHORT SALES. IF YOU ARE A SELLER THAT HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT A SHORT SALE IN IDAHO OR NEED ASSISTANCE WITH THE MARKETING OF YOUR IDAHO SHORT SALE PLEASE VISIT IDAHO SHORT SALES.

All the talk around the nation the past year or more has been about foreclosures and short sales. Foreclosures are relatively simple. You find either a “Trustee Property” that is auctioned off at Trustee Sale or you buy a foreclosed home after the bank has already repossessed it at which time you may secure financing to buy the foreclosed home. Short Sales in Idaho are another game altogether and one must have information and a game plan to successfully execute an Idaho Short Sale. I hope these tips will help you execute a successful Short Sale in Idaho.

IDENTIFY SHORT SALES IN IDAHO

This is very simple. In Southwest Idaho the majority of Short Sale homes are listed with a Realtor that is a member of the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. With this service any knowledgeable Realtor can setup an automatic email that will send any and all short sale listings to you as they come on the market. This is an incredible tool that will make shopping for your Idaho Short Sale a much easier task.

VIEW THE SHORT SALE

When you view the property what you want to look at is the amount of cosmetic and structural work the home will need. Remember that Short Sales are being sold in “As Is” condition and the seller has no money to make repairs and lenders will not make repairs. It is therefore very important to know what you are getting into before you execute an offer to purchase.

WHAT IS YOUR USE?

If you are purchasing a short sale home in Idaho with the intention of living in it make sure as mentioned above that you know the amount of work it will need. If you are an investor looking to purchase and “Flip” the sale of the home then you must know your market and know what the overall cost including repairs will be and what the real repaired value will be.

GET YOUR FINANCING IN ORDER

If you are a qualified buyer and have your financing pre-arranged you are ahead of the game. Lenders that hold liens on properties will look at the entire package more favorably if you are pre-approved and are a serious and qualified purchaser. This cannot be overstated and will place you ahead of the pack.

EXECUTE THE OFFER

Your Realtor will prepare an offer to the seller that the seller can accept with the condition of the sellers lender or lenders approving the sale. What this means is that even though the seller accepts your offer, the lenders invovled must approve the sale. This can take weeks and in some cases two or more months. “Patience” is the greatest virtue when purchasing short sales.

COOPERATE WITH YOUR AGENT

When a short sale is proposed to a lender or lenders, 1st and 2nd Deed of Trust, a “Short Sale Package” will be assembled and sent to your Realtor. This package will have a lot of information for your Realtor to assemble. The Realtor must prove to the lenders that your offer is a reasonable offer. This is determined by other Realtors unrelated to the sale doing a “Broker Price Opinion” for the lender(s). A HUD settlement statement will be prepared which will tell the lenders involved exactly how much money they will be left with if they accept your offer as written. Your Realtors opinion of value together with Broker Price Opinions, HUD settlement statement and your offer is all package together and shipped to the lender.

PATIENCE IS GOLDEN

As mentioned in paragraph 5 above “Patience” is a virtue that cannot be overstated. Some lenders will literally take weeks to give an answer on a short sale package. It will seem to you like games are being played. This is not the case. Lenders are dealing with thousands and thousands of short sales across the country and have limited manpower to process all these short sales. As the amount of short sale properties increases across the country it only adds to the already heavy load of short sale packages lenders look at.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT TEAM

Aside from choosing the right short sale home in Idaho it is so very important that you choose the rigtht “Short Sale Team” to represent you. Choose an agent that has years of experience in dealing with short sales. This experience is important because lenders will ignore packages from Realtors that are incomplete and poorly assembled. A Certified Short Sale Specialist is your guarantee your are dealing with a qualified and experienced Realtor to handle your short sale purchase. A Short Sale Specialist will choose a good Title Company to handle your sale and this Realtor and Title Company representative can make or break your sale.

There are some tremendous opportunities awaiting you. Some of the best home prices in decades are available and the selection is one of the best I have seen in three decades. You can start your own search of an Idaho Short Sale by going to Idaho Short Sale Search.

If you have any questions that are not mentioned here please call me at 208-880-2333 or email at george@tallabas.com and I will do my best to find answers to your questions. I wish you all the best in the search of your new purchase.