Organization: Short Sales require a lot of paperwork that has to be sent to the banks. Pages get lost in faxes. Or, they clump together and never actually get sent from your fax. It is your responsibility to be organized and make sure that the banks have received all of the documentation. I always call approximately three (3) days after every fax I send to verify that they have received it. If you rely on the banks to be organized, you will not be successful with your short sale.
Documentation: Document ALL your phone calls to the banks. I keep track of all my calls on a separate piece of paper and then transfer it to my online database. Document names, phone numbers and what was discussed in enough detail that you will understand all your notes. Again, if you rely on the banks, you will find that there notes will often be incomplete, missing or significantly different than the conversation you actually had.
Expectations: Set expectations with both the Seller and the Buyer, and their agent, up front to insure the greatest rate of success. More deals die from apathetic sellers or antsy buyers than anything else.
Before I take a listing that requires a short sale, I have a very direct conversation with the seller detailing all the documents that I will need from them and how quickly I will need them to respond. Banks may do nothing with your offer for weeks but when they request additional information, they expect a response in a matter of days. The seller needs to understand that they will have to be extremely responsive. Additionally, I let the buyer, or the buyer’s agent, know that they must be willing and able to show patience as the process takes time. If that doesn’t work for them, they are not the correct buyer for the property.
Persistence: Call the banks on a weekly basis. Don’t wait around for them to call you. Continue to push your deal with the bank or else it may just fall to the bottom of the pile. In this case, the squeaky wheel does get the grease. At the same time, be respectful as the employees put up with a lot of angry calls. There is a time and place to come out with both guns blazing and you will know when that occurs. Otherwise, pleasant persistence is your best friend.
Estimated HUD: I always have the estimated HUD compiled assuming that the closing won’t take place for 3 months. I would project out the property taxes, water / sewer, condo fees etc… for 3 months so that you don’t come up short on the final HUD. If the deal closes sooner, that just means that they bank gets the additional money.
Alternatively, you could complete the HUD good through the end of the month and update and send to the bank at the beginning of each month that it hasn’t closed. This approach could get a little confusing for the banks some remember to stay organized.
