Hi folks. Today, I spoke with Countrywide (CW) about one of my short sale listings. This particular home was placed on the market back in July of this year. I priced it properly and within a few weeks submitted a cash contract to CW for $87,000. Since the 3 most recent sales were for $85,000, $87,000 and $90,000 I figured CW would jump all over this deal and remove their 3rd party approval so we could move toward closing..... WRONG!!!
After many attempts I could not even get this transaction in front of a negotiator. I tried and tried and tried but they kept telling me the offer was too low. After about 2 weeks of going back and forth I finally spoke to someone at CW that told me their opinion of value was $105,000 and to resubmit at that price if I wanted it to be accepted. Well the Buyer said "adios" and went and bought another house. This all took place back in August.
In late September CW contacted me to let me know they had declined the short sale!!! Heeeeeeello.....you had already done that 6 weeks ago!!!
Anyway......after the contract being declined, in August, I placed the property back on the market, at $105,000, to try and meet CW's expectations of value. Of course that got me exactly where I knew it would.....no where. The property languished on the market with 100s of other over priced listings while the properly priced REOs (bank owned properties) were selling with multiple offers.
As usual, I started reducing the price every 10 to 14 days to try and find the sweet spot....AGAIN!! This morning, I reduced it to $79,000. Later in the day I contacted CW, as I do every week, to let them know I am still trying to get them another contract and to make sure they haven't set an auction date yet. I was fortunate to get a nice lady, who was very forthcoming with information, so I thought I'd check to see if she would tell me the price that the recent appraisal came back at.
She placed me on hold and about 10 minutes later came and told me that CW has placed a value of $85,000 on the property!! $85,000!!! I had a cash buyer at $87,000, 3 months ago, and now they tell me $85,000. Holy crap batman!!!
Folks, you need to buy this house today. Make an offer of $79,000 and my Seller will accept it. Check it out:
521 EAGLE CT KISSIMMEE FLORIDA 34759
$79,000
Listing price may not be sufficient to cover all encumbrances, closing costs, or other seller charges and sale of Property at full listing price may be conditioned upon approval of third parties. Folks.... this is a great opportunity to own a 4 bedroom home in Poinciana for a reasonable price. The house is in very good condition. This is a short sale and will require minimum 60 days to close. Seller will contribute towards your closing cost if the price is right. Ceiling fans in all rooms. Tile flooring through out.
POINCIANA FLORIDA REAL ESTATE SHORT SALE INFORMATION
POINCIANA FLORIDA REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORTS
CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES
MORE INFO FROM BROKER BRYANT... THE SOURCE FOR POINCIANA REAL ESTATE
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Tutas Towne Realty has already successfully negotiated Short Sales with the following Lenders and Investors.
Chase Short Sale,Sun Trust Short Sale, GMAC Short Sale, Wells Fargo Short Sale,Bank of America Short Sale,USA Bank Short Sale,PNC Bank Short Sale,Citi Short Sale,HomeEq Short Sale,Fifth Third Bank Short Sale,ING Direct Short Sale,GreenTree Short Sale,Capital One Short Sale,ASC Short Sale,First Horizon Short Sale,E-Trade Short Sale,Transland Financial Short Sale,US Bank Short Sale,IBM LBPS Short Sale,
Nationstar Short Sale,BAC Florida Short Sale,Real Time Solutions Short Sale,Fannie Mae Short Sale
FHA Short Sale,Selene Finance Short Sale,DTA Solutions LLC Short sale,Flagstar Short Sale,IndyMac Short Sale
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Reserved Parking For "The Lovely Wife"...TLW...ROAR!
Baby...
Just sell it already :)
P.S. You can smack me for that one later :)
TLW...ROAR!
Bryant,
I can undersrand your frustration over CW's ways of dealing with business. It must be terribly hard to walk and breathe when you have your head up your A__. If you know what I mean. Anyways, good luck!
Take Care & Have a Great '08!
When you are a bank time is not of the essence. In fact take longer so you can keep the file on your desk for a while.
It is crazy out there ! Seems like a great deal for the buyer - glad Countrywide is finally coming to their senses. That should help !
BB,
Great looking house. Sounds like CW should have listened 3 months ago. Well, you can lead the buyer to the bank but you can't make the bank sign.
Geez. These folks have a shotgun aimed squarely at their foot.
We have the same thing going on. We had a verbal acceptance for a $350,000 CASH sale in Woodbridge VA.
Today, the listing agent called and said the bank cancelled the offer because it ran over the deadline for ratification.
The reason it ran over their time limit for ratification is because the *&%#$&* listing agent didn't get the paperwork to the bank with our buyer's signature.
They screwed up so now we have to start all over again with new signatures on everything.
The buyer may walk because they wanted to close prior to Nov. 20th. Not likely now.
WOW!! $79K WOW!! Yeah, the banks can be so much fun! I got calls today to list 2 short sales.
Unfortunately, BB, it is not just Countrywide that is doing this to agents. I have stopped trying to market short sales. The cost in stress is simply not worth it. I wish there was some magic way to help the short sellers to avoid foreclosure, but I sure don't have the formula. And I think some of the banks' risk management appraisers must have evil senses of humor.
I wish I could pack up and move - I would take this home in a heart beat
Wow, that is crazy and of course very frustrating. If we hear of anybody we will send them your way.
That sounds like some crazy stuff! I am at the begining of a short sale offer and I hope it works out.
Countrywide, at least in my many experiences with them, rarely has a clue what they are doing. Right now I have buyers that are already preapproved with a lender and they want to purchase a Countrywide REO. Countrywide requires the buyers to prequalify with them. So they did their loan app with Countrywide and were turned down! These are well qualified buyers with great jobs, low ratios, and decent credit scores. Needless to say, the buyers chose another home and are waiting to close in a couple of weeks. And Countrywide is still sitting on that REO that is priced WAY below market.
BB,
That's the way Countrywide works...I have 4 of them and so far only one was approved...AFTER 6 MONTHS!...now I have 3 others and they say they won't make the same mistake again...but for some reason they wouldn't put that in writing:) See you at the party!
BB,
This saga is being repeated time and time again. Not sure it's going to stop until this madness is completely over.
Bryant .... I'm working on a short sale listing that has already been approved and get little responce from the negotiator. Got to love it.
Good Lord. Talk about biting your nose to spite your face...is that the saying? Anyway, how ridiculous. Maybe these lenders will wise up sooner rather than later? Well, we can dream anyway. Looks like a great house....best of luck with it!
Banks are so frustrating! They will step over a dollar to pick up a dime.
It really stinks when they give you the run around. The home is darling. Hopefully by blogging about it, you'll get it sold fast.
I'll buy ten! Well, can I do it on credit? Can I rent them at $1,000 a month? Looks cute!
So why is the bank so nuts?
It can be a lot of factors. You deal was only out of wack 20%. I had one out of wack 100%. Why? The first mortgagee said sell it at the contract offer! The second said we were crazy - it's worth twice that based on sq foot comps in the neighborhood. They said all the comps were at $200 to $250 sq. ft.
the 2nd lender was absolutely correct! But they were also 100% wrong! The BPO by the 2nd lender had a drive by and walk thru, and used the property appraiser numbers for the subject and comp houses.
But the property appraiser miscalculated the sq footage of the house by DOUBLE! The homeowners never knew it either!
As they always say.......... You never know!
Copyright 2008 Richard P. Zaretsky, Esq.
Be sure to contact your own attorney for your state laws, and always consult your own attorney on any legal decision you need to make. This article is for information purposes and is not specific advice to any one reader.
Richard Zaretsky, Esq., RICHARD P. ZARETSKY P.A. ATTORNEYS AT LAW, 1655 PALM BEACH LAKES BLVD, SUITE 900, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33401, PHONE 561 689 6660 RPZ99@Florida-Counsel.com - FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED IN REAL ESTATE LAW - We assist Brokers and Sellers with Short Sales and Modifications and Consult with Brokers and Sellers Nationwide! Shortsales@Florida-Counsel.com New Website www.Florida-Counsel.com
I just watched your video of the home and I am shocked this hasn't sold already. Clean, appears to be well maintained, nice "cook friendly" kitchen. What in the world are people waiting for? A smart investor or first time home buyer should jump all over it!
PS to Countrwide: Get your thinking caps out of your desk drawers and put them on!
Bryant - It seems like countrywide may not be in a hurry to unload these properties. Bank of A<erica should be trying really hard to get the rap off the books so that they can go about their business.
BB, are you kidding me? This home won't sell at $85,000, now granted I don't know the market but this is a 3 year old home and appears to be in good condition. Somebody is going to get a good deal, IMHO.
Good Golly- $79,000! You cannot build it for that! The prices in Poinciana should have first time home buyers lining up with checks in hand...Talk about the deal of a lifetime! By this time next year youwill notbe able to get a house at this price anywhere! Great house BB
Just another short sale misfortune. When will these people ever learn? I hope they are smarter this time!
The CW folks act more and more like state employees.
That house is cute as a button!
I feel your frustrations. I had one during the summer were the first (Wells) wouldn't budge forever. They did and offered the 2nd (Citi) 3% to settle. 2nd wouldn't settle (prolly had PMI) but they ended up selling it at the trustees sale for so low that 2nd could have been paid off and we could have got a whole 7% for commission. Oh, I also had 5 offers on it, 3 all cash in a period of 8 months.
Don't you just love short sales? Sometimes I can't believe we are bailing these banks out when they still do not get the picture ! They are stealing everybody's time and make matters worst.
BB - If the sold prices in the area were from $85,000 to $90,000 they should have gave you the ok and get it off their books. So, now they own the home for another 3 months.
Wow, Bryant, that's impressive... $79,000. I hope one of those agent down in Orlando for the NAR Convention sees this and jumps on it. Incredible story about the short sale - my son was renting a home and the bank refused to speak with anyone about a purchase when the property went to foreclosure. They could have sold it for $50,000 more than it's now listed for, but the buyer has moved on.
I'm actually surprised that you raised the price because you always talk about overpricing and you knew what the property was likely worth based on the most recent closed comps way back in August. Why did you raise it? To satisfy CW, when their opinion of value was skewed? Or to prove to them that their "opinion" wasn't worth beans?
If the banks were really interested in selling they would be more accomodating. Who has the best price opinion - the guy on the ground or in the cubicle at the bank?
Kelly, I really had no choice but to raise the price. CW just would not listen and at the time it would have made no sense to try again at the same price. I actually resubmitted the same contract about a week later and they still would not even look at it. So.....I had to start over with my pricing strategy. Since reducing the price tpo $79,000 yesterday I have had several showings and may be getting a cash offer later today.
Short sales are very time consuming but I have been in this business way to long to get frustrated over these things. I just keep marketing and submitting contracts. If the first, second or third ones don;t stick maybe the fourth will :)
Bryant, what an adorable house and the price is amazing!
I had a aimilar situation with one of my Short Sale negotiations where they rejected my initial offer saying that their appraisor priced it way above the offer. With my analysis of the market that proved their appraisor was in error, they still refused to accept the Buyer's offer; they lowered their net requried but not enough. I too had to raise the list price and back on the market in search of a new Buyer; it never happened; not one inquiry or showing. So, I went back to them explaining this and reminded them of the data that I had provided to them in regards to what foreclosure were selling for which were way below our Buyer's offer. They committed to reviewing the file again and sent it to their REO dept and within two days I received an written approval letter for the Buyer's offer. Lucky for us, the Buyer was still interested and hadn't found another home!
Lynn, Doing short sales is not only chalenging but I'm really starting to enjoy the drama!!! I received a call from the buyer's agent yesterday stating that the buyer had just contacted her about possibly making another offer on ths property. So you just never know how will all work out.