The sale of real estate is far different in Metropolitan New York than it is anywhere else. For one thing, we use attorneys from the start. For another, the attorneys handle the contracts, not the brokers. Another difference is that they won’t draw up contracts until after the inspections are done, unlike other locales where … Read More…
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Lake Peekskill Short Sale: He Always Paid His Bills
Categories: Success StoriesTags: Putnam County Short salesWe closed recently on a short sale in Lake Peekskill, Putnam County that was a challenge with both the seller’s lender and the buyer. The details aren’t important; it took some hard work, patience, and even a bit of diplomacy because the buyer rejected the first proposed approval from the bank and we had to … Read More…
Notes from the Short Sale Trenches
Categories: Short sales, Success StoriesTags: extensions, White Plains short saleAthletes speak of a “good tired” and a “bad tired” after a game, good after a win and bad after a loss. Tonight I am the good kind of tired. 13 months ago I met with a very nice lady in White Plains who called me after a Realtor she was interviewing proposed that since … Read More…
Case Study: Hopewell Junction Short Sale
Categories: Short salesThis closing punctuates the crucial importance of having a great attorney spearhead the short sale application with the lender. The market is, as everyone knows, still very slow for sellers and a buyers market through and through. We activated the listing last September, just about a full year ago. The client, a widow, had moved … Read More…
Short Sales are Not to Blame for Market Decline
Categories: Short salesTags: REOA client forwarded me the link on Inman News to this broker in Nevada who blames short sale agents and sellers for the mess. Prices keep falling because the short-sale agents are listing at 5 to 10 percent below comps in order to try to get an offer, and often are accepting offers at even … Read More…
When Everyone Walks Away with Money Exept the Seller
Categories: CommentaryTags: avoiding foreclosure, preserving credit, proceedsJust about every home sale is stressful on the seller. A short sale, given the higher stakes and financial ramifications, often has even more stress for the seller than a typical transaction. On a few occasions, I have had a short sale client lament that they are “left out” in a way, in that everyone … Read More…
Please Take Off Your Clothes
Categories: Commentary, Short salesTags: avoiding foreclosure, New York short sales, questionsI just finished my first day of CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) class, and am reflecting on one of the more profound insights given by the instructor, Mark Boyland. Mark, who is an excellent presenter, compared the difficult issues we have to sort out with distressed homeowners with the rather matter of fact way a doctor handles another … Read More…
How Much of a Loss Will The Bank Accept in a Short Sale?
Categories: Commentary, Short salesTags: Bank Loss, New York short sales, Westchester short salesHow much of a loss will the lender accept in a short sale? I am asked this from time to time by consumers and agents alike. We always disclose when a property is being sold subject to lender approval, and I understand the rationale for asking about the numbers, especially with the high dollar value … Read More…
Buying a Short Sale: Market Value, Not a Steal
Categories: Short salesTags: buying a short sale, Westchester short salesAs short sales have become more common and are even showing up in new markets in Westchester, I find myself educating my colleagues on what can and cannot be done in order to have a successful closing. Lately, we’ve received offers that are unrealistically low; essentially, what the buyers do not understand is that the lender is … Read More…
Will I Have to Pay Taxes After a Short Sale?
Categories: Short salesTags: 1099, Mortgage forgiveness debt relief act, taxes, Westchester short salesThe concern of some homeowners looking to do a short sale that a 1099 issued from the bank will expose them to a new problem, namely a huge income tax bill on the forgiven debt, is understandable. With home values in Westchester in 2010 at a median of $630,000, a six figure 1099 is entirely … Read More…