Vienna and McLean are like any other area in Northern VA and continue to see available short sales and foreclosures. In 2007 I listed and sold my first short sale in a time when few understood the beginnings of the collapse of the real estate market. Many of the principles and process I learned to get that one approved, I continue to use to this day and the main reason why I have not changed any of my short sale articles. The term short sale is more common today in real estate and the main reason why they are a viable option for home buyers in Northern VA. Understanding the short sale process and all its pit falls is the most important aspect of getting a short sale approved and closed in Vienna and Mclean or anywhere in Northern VA. To find more articles and information on short sales and foreclosure please visit Northern Virginia Short Sales and REO’s.

Home Sellers in Northern VA needing to short sale, not only have the looming anxiety of losing their home but also need to find an agent who is a short sale expert. Many home sellers have trouble determining what makes an agent a short sale expert. Unfortunately unbeknownst to many would be short sellers, hiring an agent without short sale knowledge and experience can make the difference between approval or foreclosure. The only published national short sale success rate available is a USA today report that estimated a disappointing 23% closing rate in 2009. Several years following this article, more short sales were sold successfully but now that the real estate market has dramatically improved, the process is more difficult. Banks are becoming less likely to approve short sales because of the continued appreciation of the market.

Short sales in Vienna or Mclean are like any other, the size of the loss that a lender may be taking does not weigh as much in the approval as the need or percentage of market value does. The most important aspect of these is the need for a short sale by a home owner. Lenders will only approve a short sale if there is a clear financial and/or personal distress causing the inability to make mortgage payments. Those who can afford the payment and/or have no reason to move but just want out of their loan since they are upside down will not get approved.

The second major aspect of getting a short sale in Vienna or Mclean approved and getting it sold is pricing it correctly. Pricing a home to sell whether it is a short sale or regular sale is detrimental from the first day the home is placed on the market. Pricing any home is 50% technical and 50% art depending on current market conditions the day it is listed in the MLS. This is even more important when it comes to short sales for several reasons. The first and most obvious is if a short sale is not priced aggressively enough and buyers aren’t interested, the home most certainly will never short sell. The art of pricing comes in since a short sale needs to be priced low enough to attract buyers willing to take the short sale risk but also priced high enough to get the lender to approve the short sale. Nothing will annoy a bank short sale negotiator more than a home owner or listing agent giving a home away. Normally there are pricing thresholds in place by lenders that need to be met in order for a short sale to be approved but can be a moving target. Finding a real estate agent who understands these short sale pricing thresholds is the key to getting an approval.

A facet of the short sale process that is still true for all parties involved with buying and selling a short sale is remaining patient. Lenders/Banks continue to make the short sale process very convoluted and slow and can take time to negotiate a deal. The average short sale takes three to four months to get approved which means finding a patient buyer is paramount to getting to closing. Short sale sellers have to contend with the mounds of financial documentation that is required to be submitted for the approval, click here for a list of required short documentation . Many times the banks/lenders request updated material multiple times because of the long time period between application and approval. When the time comes for the approval some lenders then attempt to short change the real estate agent and negotiate a lower commission. With the extra work, expense, and the risk of short sales and the chance they will not get approved has kept many real estate agents out of the short sale arena.

The first steps when considering a short sale in Vienna or Mclean is to contact your bank, or banks if you have multiple mortgages, and contacting a short sale expert in Northern VA. For a free consultation to determine if a short sale is right for you, please contact me.

*******If you are still wondering, since my first short sale in 2007, I have a 93% short sale success rate with all homes that I list and 97% success rate with owner occupied short sales.

Joey can guide you through any real estate buying or selling process, contact me.