Short sales and foreclosures are on everyone's mind today.  You can not turn on the news,  the internet or see a billboard that does not have something to do with a short sale or Foreclosure.

What is a short sale?  A short sale occurs when a homeowner sells their property for less than the amount that they owe.  The majority of the time, there is a lender involved who holds the note on the property and who must allow the sale to occur by approving the short sale and releasing the lien on the property.  Each lender is different and each requires different forms to submit.  While short sales are each in their own very different, the common denominator is that the banks want to NET as much money as possible in the sale.   Contrary to what you may read or hear, banks or NOT letting these sales happen for HUGE discounts off of the market value.  They order an appraisal and make their decision of value based on the appraisal.

What does this mean for a Panama City or Panama City Beach homebuyer?  It means that if you want to purchase a short sale and want the best opportunity to get it approved, DO NOT LOW BALL your offer!  Make a solid offer that reflects market value or something very close to that.  Why?  Because low ball offers tend to make it to the bottom of the pile of paperwork and good, solid offers always rise to the top of the pile and get approved.

How do we know this?  The Payne Group has closed more short sales than any other agent in our local market in Panama City Beach, FL.  Our closing success rate is over 95%!  We know short sales!

What is a Foreclosure?  A foreclosure, also known as REO (Real Estate Owned) is a bank owned property that has gone through the foreclosure process.  The homeowner no longer owns the home and the bank now owns the property.

While a Foreclosure normally does not take as long to get sold as a short sale, the recent trend with a Foreclosure is at least 45 day escrow times.  The foreclosure is typically run by a 3rd party asset manager who works as an intermediary between real estate agent and bank.  That in itself leads to longer times to get REO properties closed. 

The REO properties are not really unlike the short sale in terms of offers and values.  The asset managers have appraisals on file and tend to stick to those values.  What does that mean for you?  REO properties have alot of demand and buyers who make good solid market value offers tend to be the successful buyer and low ball offers tend to be disappointing.

What is the point to all of this?  Ready, willing and able buyers who are also very motivated understand the market and know that they need to make solid, market value offers to be successful.  So the next time that you make an offer, ask your agent to provide market value comparables so that you can make an informed purchase!

Call The Payne Group today!  We know short sales and foreclosures