Selling Your Home
Preparing you and your family for the Short Sale
Although we offer many guarantees and can postpone the foreclosure, it takes a highly focused team effort to be successful as foreclosure proceedings will continue to move forward in many cases. Remember, if all it took to avoid a foreclosure was to tell the bank, ”I’m selling the house” or to send them some low-ball offer from an private investor, everyone would do it and there would be no foreclosures.
You should take calls from your bank periodically so they know you are intent on trying to sell your home. Some banks we work with are more likely to postpone and give extra time but there are many factors they consider such as: amount owed, date since last payment, payment history, equity, etc.
Be aware that most of the calls come from the collection department which is motivated and paid to secure payments from you by scaring you with hard colds facts, outright lies or simply telling you what you want to hear.
The honest straightforward response is:
- Tell them the house is listed for sale.
- You are doing everything you can to sell the home and pay them
- Ask them if there is any information they need you to send to them
Preparing your house to be sold
Once you have signed all the listing documents and paid your Short Sale Fee, your house is ready to be marketed for sale. Please read and implement as many of the tips on preparing your house for sale that are provided. In the following week you will receive calls from the following people regarding getting your property ready to be sold:
Field Agent: Responsible for gathering all specific information about your house such as room sizes, features, etc. The Field Agent will call to set an appointment to meet you at your home or make arrangements for you to leave a key for access. The Field Agent will install a yard sign and key box on your door, so please have an extra key ready.
Photographer: If applicable, a professional photographer will call you to make arrangements to take photographs. Please have the house as tidy and as clutter free as possible prior to his/her arrival to ensure good photos. Store things in the closets even if temporarily to allow for the best photos. You do not need to be present at the appointment but they will need access to the entire property so please make arrangements for any problem pets.
Licensed Inspector/Insurance Adjuster: If applicable, a licensed inspector or insurance adjuster will call you to make arrangements to inspect the house. He/she will create an estimate of all possible updates and repairs the house needs. You do not need to be present at the appointment if a key has been placed in the key box; but they will need access to the entire property so please make arrangements for any problem pets.
Showing the house
Once the Field Agent (and photographer and inspector, as applicable) have been to your house, we will begin your marketing plan within 2-3 business days. We utilize the services of a showing service (AccuShow), a professional showing service who manages our showings 24 hours a day.
Your showings will be handled according to the occupancy status as follows:
If vacant
Agents will be given instructions to show the house at the appointed time. You will receive an email notification of the showing, as well as any feedback provided by the showing agent. Our agents aggressively follow-up to obtain as much feedback as possible, and solicit offers of any interested parties.
If occupied
Courtesy Call: This preferred method of contact for occupied properties. The agent with CSS will call the occupant to notify him/her of the showing time desired by the showing agent. If the CSS agent does not reach a party live, he/she will leave a message with the showing date and time.
Appointment Required: If required by occupant, an appointment can be required. The CSS agent will be required to get permission to show the property at the desired time. The occupant should make all efforts to allow the showing at the desired time, but may reschedule due to extenuating circumstances. You may inform the CSS agent directly if you need to reschedule or restrict showing time (e.g. not after 7PM)
Offer to purchase
Once the property is marketed for sale, it can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to several months before an acceptable offer is presented. We market your house aggressively to obtain an offer as quickly as possible, but it may take some time as we have to be able to demonstrate the rationale for each price reduction with your bank. If we start with too low of a price or lower the price by too much too quickly, they will claim it could have sold for more.
We review all the activity, marketing, showings, agent feedback, etc., each week and make price adjustments as needed on Thursdays in time for weekend showing appointments. If the activity is slow and/or agent feedback shows we are priced too high, we make those adjustments.
When an offer is received, we make sure the potential buyer is financially strong and committed to purchasing the house under the conditions we require in order to present the strongest offer with the greatest chance of being accepted by the bank.
As soon as an acceptable offer is received, you will be notified by email that the contract is ready for your electronic signature, so be watching your email. We will notify you by phone if we notice you have not responded to the email soon afterward.
Once all parties sign the contract, it is sent to the bank along with all the supporting documentation we have assembled and the bank requires. From this point it typically takes 30-90 days until closing (see further explanation below), or possibly longer, depending on the bank.
NOTE: It is critical we have ALL of the requested documents by the time we receive an offer. Failure to provide proper documentation will not only make the process longer but could cause the bank or buyers to reject the offer as well as it will void our service guarantee.
Negotiation with the bank
This is the part of the process that takes the longest. Once we have submitted all the necessary documentation, including a signed contract, then the bank begins the decision-making process. This process can take several weeks and in extreme cases many months. It requires rigorous follow-up and extensive negotiation on our part. The bank will send their own appraiser who will report back to the bank their opinion of the value of the house.
Be aware that most of the calls come from the collection department which is motivated and paid to secure payments from you by scaring you with hard colds facts or even lies or simply telling you what you want to hear.
While under contract we continue to market the home to secure back-up offers. The activity level will slow as the house will be under contract but we want to cover every angle. We will update you typically once every two weeks with updates.
Your bank will then decide whether to accept, reject, or present a counter-offer to the buyer. We will negotiate to make the deal work with the buyer, or in some cases will have to find another buyer willing to meet the bank’s terms.
Closing the Sale of the House
Once we have received final acceptance of the offer from the bank, we will work with the buyer and their lender to close (sign all documents to transfer ownership) on the house. You will be notified of the date and time of closing where you will be required to go to the title company and sign the necessary documents. Unless other arrangements have been made, you will have to vacate the house prior to closing.
You will need to bring a copy of your driver’s license and house keys, garage remotes, etc., to the closing. Be aware that as this closing date gets close you will need to tell you employer that you will need flexibility to go to the title company during normal 8am – 5pm business hours.
Rarely will you have to bring any money to closing but there is the chance your mortgage company may request a small gesture or promissory note from you. This will be your choice if so. This will not be a surprise as we will have the final agreement from the bank prior to closing and be able to discuss this with you.
Summary
The process of marketing a house for a short sale and negotiating with buyers and your bank is very time consuming and complex. It is not unusual to go several weeks or even a month or two without significant progress being made. Please know that we are working hard on your behalf to sell your house as quickly as possible. We don’t get paid buy your bank until we are successful so we are highly motivated to close in a timely fashion.
Call 713-595-8200 or Email us for free, no obligation information on:
- Credit Counseling
- Broker or Non-Broker Assisted Short Sales
- Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure
- Foreclosure Postponement
- Loan Affordability Programs
- Recommended Mortgage Bankers
