Short sales in Ft Lauderdale can be a very stressful to the Buyer and all involved. Let’s first define what a short sale is. A short sale is a sale of a Ft Lauderdale home or condo where the lender of the property has agreed to accept a payoff amount that is lower than the amount owed on the property. Hopefully as part of the negotiation the debt is forgiven.
To get the lender to agree to the sale is the hard part. The current owner has to prove they have been through a hardship in their life and show their income has been drastically reduced. Banks seem to take anywhere from 3-6 months or even longer after the offer has been received to approve the sale of the property, often after all that time they may counteroffer. We’ve seen Ft Lauderdale short sales that are still in process with the bank for over 1 year. Sometimes the buyer finds out that the lender will not approve the sale after a 6 month wait because the seller has not proven a hardship. When a bank turns town a short sale usually foreclosure follows but it can be a long time before the property actually becomes available to a buyer through this process.
So next time you ask your Ft Lauderdale Realtors I want a short sale you may just want to re-think that and ask for a great deal instead. There are plenty of those in the Ft Lauderdale Real Estate market with regular sales and REO’s (Real Estate Owned – Bank owned properties). Ft Lauderdale Realtor, Eric Miller of eXp Realty LLC has completed many short sales and would be glad to help you out in your search for short sales in the Ft Lauderdale real estate market.