I’ve been working on a short sale, with Countrywide, since December 3, 2008. There is a 1st and 2nd mortgage on this gulf front condo, both with Countrywide. As of yesterday, my buyer backed out of the contract…that’s just over 4 months and I still don’t have an answer. The file is yet to be submitted to the investor who actually owns the loan. What in the world is Countrywide doing?
How long do lenders expect buyers to wait? There are agents who get mad at the buyer for “walking”, but can we really? In this case, my buyer is not at fault. The closing date and extension date to close has come and gone. Until the lender (seller) has accepted the offer, the buyer can withdraw their offer at anytime…short sale or not.
Why is it some lenders can process their files so much faster than others? In fact, as I’m typing this post, I received an email from a different lender with approval of a (different) short sale contract. That offer was submitted on February 6. Granted the price is much lower and so is the deficit to the seller, but it’s approved. We will close within 30 days. That’s about 90 days from start to finish. Not unreasonable.
Buyers don’t want to wait. The real estate market is moving quickly and the “deals” are getting bought up. My Broker has this analogy: “Like any yard sale those who show up first get the best choices and those who show up later get what was picked over.”
Check out this chart from our local MLS showing activity over the past 6 months.
| OCT | NOV | DEC | JAN | FEB | MAR | |
| Comp APR 2008 – APR 2009 Active: | 413 | 358 | 279 | 477 | 456 | 442 |
| Ref APR 2007 – APR 2008 Active: | 511 | 401 | 331 | 539 | 475 | 607 |
| % Change Active: | -19.17% | -10.72% | -15.70% | -11.50% | -4.00% | -27.18% |
| Comp APR 2008 – APR 2009 Pending: | 107 | 99 | 112 | 151 | 153 | 243 |
| Ref APR 2007 – APR 2008 Pending: | 84 | 81 | 97 | 83 | 136 | 151 |
| % Change Pending: | 21.50% | 18.18% | 13.39% | 88.70% | 11.10% | 62.14% |
| Comp APR 2008 – APR 2009 Sold: | 101 | 80 | 99 | 71 | 96 | 124 |
| Ref APR 2007 – APR 2008 Sold: | 96 | 72 | 93 | 77 | 85 | 110 |
| % Change Sold: | 5.20% | 11.11% | 6.45% | -7.79% | 12.94% | 12.72% |
| Comp APR 2008 – APR 2009 Expired: | 466 | 396 | 620 | 492 | 388 | 468 |
| Ref APR 2007 – APR 2008 Expired: | 711 | 548 | 1000 | 644 | 456 | 513 |
| % Change Expired: | -34.45% | -27.73% | -38.00% | -23.60% | -14.91% | -8.77% |
As I mentioned in my previous post, Destin, Florida has Buyers.