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There was a time not long ago when short sales were quite taboo.  For a long period, you would be hard pressed to convince an agent to show you a short sale property.  Why?  Well, the conversion ratio of successful short sales was about 10%.  That means that we were expecting one out of 10 to close.  The rest of the time, we'd expect to hear that the bank rejects the short sale for one of 100s of silly reasons. 

Times have changed!  These days, we are batting about 47%.  That means that almost half of the short sale contracts get completed.  That number may seem low, but there are other reasons for fall out such as financing or inspection contingencies.  In fact, short sales are now closing at the same rate as regular resales.  The only one that is…

It was a very painful two and a half week process, but we were able to stop the foreclosure two days before the auction and get the short sale approved.  I jest of course, as short sales are supposed to be an arduous process.  Now comes the easy part, let's get an offer!  The bank has fully approved my short sale in Chandler at 10% below market price.  If you know anybody that would be interested in a 2300 sqft home with a 3cg and a pool for only $244,000, please send them to 1843 E Shannon, Chandler, AZ.

Boy, it sure was a great thing that they got rid of those down payment programs where the seller paid the buyer's down payment, right?  I mean, if the buyer didn't have any skin in the game, they may be more likely to walk away from the house.  This, of course, is so obvious!  Or is it?  According to HUD, it is ok when the US government is paying for your down payment.  Here's how it works:

When you apply for your mortgage, you will also get a second loan in the amount of your first time home buyer tax credit.  You use that as your down payment, and when you get your tax credit, you pay back that second loan. 

Straight from the horse's mouth (HUD):

How the secondary financing works:

·        The tax credit advance, when…

My mom always taught me that you have to treat everybody properly and with respect.  My dad went one step further, and taught me that you treat people well because you never know when you will run into them again.  This lesson definitely came in handy tonight. 

My client wanted to buy some vacation property a little north of Tempe.  We drove up one morning, looked at a few, and decided to write an offer on one.  After a tough negotiation, we were able to come to an agreement that made everyone happy.  We had the inspection a few days ago, and today just submitted the Buyer Inspection Notice.

Well, on the drive home tonight, I got a surprise call from the Realtor on the other side of the deal.  She liked me enough that she felt comfortable enough to…