By definition, a Short Sale occurs when the mortgage company allows the sale of a home to take place even though funds to pay off the mortgage in that sale are actually short of the full amount needed.

Having completed Short Sales in Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander with sellers having all kinds of individual situations, I can assure you that complete cooperation is absolutely necessary to accomplish a sale that ends up closing... cooperation from the home seller, the real estate agent and the prospective buyer.

Three area of approval are needed... frist, the seller has to be approved - the mortgage company will only help a seller by allowing a short sale if the seller is truly in a situation that will not allow them to continue making payments.

Secondly, the property needs to be approved - the lender will want to know the value of the home by getting a detailed opinion of value from us or from an appraiser.  The reason is simply that the mortgage company is only allowed to accept a loss of a certain percentage and will only approve a sale if a contract is received that meets that number.

The buyer also need to be approved, and that is accomplished with a letter when the buyer submits their contract. 

When we are involved in processing a Short Sale, the seller of the home must cooperate fully with us and with the bank or mortgage company.  It is a frsustrating process, providing all financial information and personal letters explaining why the Short Sale is needed. There is no question that is can be very frustrating, but providing everything needed to the mortgage company when needed is critical toward getting the seller approved.

The agent representing the seller must cooperate by providing everything needed by the mortgage company including all listing documents, the home valuation, an estimate of closing costs and more.  Even if the lender asks for this over and over and over, it must be sent immediately uipon request, or the chances of accomplishing a Short Sale is neglible.

The buyer and their agent must cooperate by providing everything required, including proof of loan qualification by a letter from their lender.

Then a Short Sale requires everyone to cooperation by being patient.  It can take 60, 90, 120 days or longer just to get a response from the mortgage company.  In their defense, mortgage companies are so swamped with Short Sales that they are literally have too little man power to get your approvals any sooner.

First, let me share with you that we recently had a home in Short Sale in Round Rock end up in foreclosure because the seller would never provide fully what the lender asked, and the lender was not going to stall foreclosure when the seller would not even make the effort to provide what they asked for.  The shame of it is that we could have sold that home and saved that seller a lot of future money and frustration.

We just closed a Short Sale in Steiner Ranch by stalling foreclosure two times, because everyone involved cooperated every step fo the way.

The buyer must cooperate and be patient because that lender can take longer than anyone expects.  The seller's lender may ask for documents that they already have, they may promise response timelines and not meet them, and continue delays with no explanations.

I saw at least 3 occasions in 2009 where we had a buyer for a Short Sale pull their contract because they were tired of the delays, only to have the second buyer in line buy that home at 25% under market.

If a buyer really wants a bargain, after having put 2 months into a Short Sale contract, they will either start over with another Short Sale, or forego the chance to get a bargain by purchasing a typical home.  Waiting just a few more weeks or even a couple of months could have saved them tens of thousands of dollars.

So if you plan to become involved in a Short Sale, make sure EVERYONE is willing to cooperate! If you are considering a Short Sale for your home, read www.ShortSaleDetails.com before you do anything.

If you want a bargain on a home that is well maintained, consider buying a Short Sale, see all Short Sale home available in the Austin / Round Rock real estate markets at www.SeeShortSales.com