Below is a simple diagram of a “normal” sale. Buyer makes offer AFTER verifying everything is in order to close, except the appraisal. Downpayment funds in bank? Check. Pre-approval for mortgage? Check. Cash for closing costs in bank? Check. Ready to make offer. Appraisal comes in at the sale price. Buyer ready to close.
We’re just following the money here. We don’t need to show the Earnest Money, as Earnest Money is not “additional” amounts needed by the buyer. It’s just an advance against monies later needed at escrow to close.
In the example of a “normal” sale, the amount provided by the buyer is in excess of the amount needed by the seller to pay all seller costs and payoff all monies owed on the property, including lienable utilities. As long as the amount offered exceeds the amount the seller needs, the sale closes.
Now let’s look at all the things that go wrong, creating a “short sale” situation, in the graph below.
First notice that the main reason the buyer is often impatient and confused is that everything the buyer does is exactly the same in a short sale as it is in a normal sale. Everything that goes wrong, and everything that may or may not be done to fix it, is out of the buyer’s control.
That is why you often see questions like:
1) How can I contact the seller’s creditors?
2) How can I contact the seller?
3) How can we find out exactly what is going on!?!?
Now look very closely at the diagram above. I want you to go to the last box on the right. Aha… that’s the part everyone seems to be missing.
Just because the value of a property is obviously less than the amount owed, that does not mean that the seller’s lienholder is going to approve the short sale. In most cases no one involved in the transaction knows what is in that last box. Escrow doesn’t know, the agents don’t know and very often everything proceeds for months as if what the seller has in assets and cash outside of the sale of the property is meaningless.
Now ask yourself this: You lend your friend $10,000 to buy a car. He decides to sell it when he still owes you $8,000. He tells you someone is willing to pay $5,000 for the car and he wants you to take $5,000 as payment in full. You look at his offer, you find out he he has $15,000 in a savings account. You find out the blue book value for the car is $6,500. The person who wants to buy the car for $5,000 is getting impatient wating for an answer. What would you do?
That’s a “short sale” pure and simple. Do you take the $5,000 because you can get it in a few days? Oh but wait, your friend won’t sell the car to get you the $5,000, unless you agree, in writing, that you won’t EVER come after him for the remaining $3,000 you owe him. Should you just take the car and try to sell it for the $6,500 or better, so that you can still collect the amount your friend owes you after you sell the car?
Tell me, what are the odds in that situation that you are going to say “sure, I’ll take the $5,000 and leave you alone”? If you know there is $15,000 in the bank AND the car is worth more than $5,000, why WOULD you say…sure, no problem.
Almost never do you see anyone talking about why the bank WOULD NOT approve the short sale, because they are always talking about how the bank should be happy to get a fraction of what is owed, and $60,000 or more less than what it’s worth.
But what about the owner’s money in the bank? What about the owner’s $120,000 income a year, but he moved and bought a new house and stopped making payments on the old house? What about the equity in the seller’s other house…oh and he made that big downpayment on his NEW house by refinancing (taking the cash out of) this one that is now short.
So if you are buying a short sale and are simply waiting for the bank to say yes, remember it sometimes takes a really long time for someone to say YES to something that they don’t want to say yes to. On the other hand if all you want is a fast answer, anyone can pressure the bank to say NO in a matter of days.
There’s a lot more to a short sale approval, and most of it has to do with whether or not the bank is willing to forgive the remaining debt, or the seller is willing to sign a note agreeing to pay the remaining debt.
No one asks this question, before they make an offer. No one knows the answer to this question while they are waiting for approval. Most of the time the delay is because the owner wants forgiveness of debt, and the lender needs the owner to prove current and long term “hardship” in order to release them from the future obligation to pay.
Ardell,
Excellent breakdown of a scenario that most never think about. We like to make these short sales all the same and simple. Unfortunately things aren’t as simple, cut & dry. To compound matters, each one is different than the one before. The other day I wrote about Step 1 in the short sale process. Always good for people to remember (you all here at RCG might even recognize someone). ;?)
Ardell, the following link offers my response to this article which I believe has missed a few points about Loss Mitigation.
It’s A Bottom Line Issue
Jon,
Read your post. I doubt many would agree with you as to your answer to the car analogy in the post. I would think most wouild go to small claims court for the difference, unless the friend just had no money and couldn’t pay for that reason.
Sadly, I think you’re right about that. Most would go to small claims court, but my opinion of those who seek petty claims is that they have not yet learned the value of time. Small claims court is a horrible way to spend precious life over pride and “principle.”
If all of the lenders filed suit rather than forgiving debt, we’d have a huge mess on our hands. I’m not an expert in law, but if I loan $10,000.00, and I don’t get it back, am I not out of the realm of small claims court? I thought small claims were in the $2400.00 range and under.
Jon,
The amount owed was $8,000 (already paid $2,000 and no interest for friends). Take the car and sell it for $6,500 (blue book) if possible to mitigate damages. (sell it to the guy for $5,000 if no higher offers within 5 to 10 days). Assuming you get $6,500, the the balance due is $1,500.
Small claims are usually up to $5,000 I think. Some higher to reduce “real” court cases. Small claims is simple, cheap, and worth it for the $1,500. Since no interest was charged, it would likely be a pretty simple “win”. No attorneys and I think less than $200 to file.
Point is there is NO reason for someone with 15 times what they owe in the bank, to walk away. People will “forgive debt” if someone is down and out and has nothing…but not when they have 12 times what they owe in the bank or in other assets. Just makes no sense to walk when someone has the ability to pay.
On a short sale…you need to prove hardship, and that hardship can’t look like it is going to correct itself in the near future. That’s pretty much a national standard.
Ardell, the following link offers my response to this article which I believe has missed a few points about Loss Mitigation.
It’s A Bottom Line Issue
Ardell, nice job with the illustration — hopefully this helps buyers to better understand the short sale process. Two comments:
First, the offer in the second hypothetical (the short sale) should be something like $280k. After all, that is the primary — only? — benefit to the buyer in a short sale, the opportunity to really low-ball and get a great deal.
Second, at least theoretically, the bank does not need to forgive the balance of the debt. In your hypothetical, you would hope that the bank would ask the seller to sign a new promissory note for some or all of the difference that is secured by the seller’s other house. Even though that new obligation would be junior to an existing lien, the lender would still be in reasonably good shape given the amount of equity. Now I don’t have tons of experience in handling short sale negotiations, so I don’t know if banks ever take such a step. But the bottom line is that the lender only has to release the lien that secures the debt from the property — the lender does not have to release the seller from the obligation.
Ardell, nice job with the illustration — hopefully this helps buyers to better understand the short sale process. Two comments:
First, the offer in the second hypothetical (the short sale) should be something like $280k. After all, that is the primary — only? — benefit to the buyer in a short sale, the opportunity to really low-ball and get a great deal.
Second, at least theoretically, the bank does not need to forgive the balance of the debt. In your hypothetical, you would hope that the bank would ask the seller to sign a new promissory note for some or all of the difference that is secured by the seller’s other house. Even though that new obligation would be junior to an existing lien, the lender would still be in reasonably good shape given the amount of equity. Now I don’t have tons of experience in handling short sale negotiations, so I don’t know if banks ever take such a step. But the bottom line is that the lender only has to release the lien that secures the debt from the property — the lender does not have to release the seller from the obligation.
Hi Craig,
I tried to keep this basic and generic and primarily directed to buyers, as the person I wrote it for who was asking questions on my Should you buy a short sale? post is not from WA or West Coast. I believe he is from a State that has judicial foreclosures vs. Trustee Sale – non-judicial foreclosures.
For this example I chose to show the total loan as a 1st, and not a 1st and second. I think you may be mixing the seller’s new loan with the buyer’s old one in your comment, as the $280,000 amount is not relevant to the seller’s payoff in either example. In the first example, the seller had one payoff of $120,000 and in the second the seller had a payoff of $410,000 and growing, one first mortgage and no second mortgage.
As to local short sales, to the best of my knowledge, and as I’ve said before, current Purchase and Sale agreements do not appear to give the seller the right to cancel if the bank approves the buyer’s offer, but requires the seller to sign the unsecured note as part of the approval. I think that is a HUGE missing element to the standard contracts, and have indicated that sellers should be careful to have an attorney review short sale offers before signing them for this reason.
Ardell — my “$280k” was a reference to what I thought the buyer in the second example should offer as a the benefit for putting up with the short sale process. If the property has a “market value” of $300k (“market value” being defined by an actual offer and not an appraisal) then a short sale buyer should offer something significantly less. That way the buyer gets a tangible benefit (other than buying the “dream home,” I suppose) in exchange for tolerating the short sale process.
As for protecting the seller’s interest, the forms are a little better than you give them credit for. Specifically, the Form 22SS (uh, does anyone else cringe when something is identified as SS?) states that the contract is “contingent upon Seller obtaining written consent from Seller’s creditor(s) for the short sale and Seller’s acceptance of any conditions imposed by Seller’s creditor(s).” This is not iron-clad protection, by any sort, as every contract imposes on the parties a duty of good faith and the buyer could argue that seller’s consent to paying the difference is required by this duty. That would be far from a slam-dunk, though. To be safe, the contract should specifically state in an addendum that Seller’s consent to the creditor(s) conditions, such as signing another promissory note, is at Seller’s sole and exclusive discretion.
Craig,
Note above that the buyer’s appraisal came in at $300,000 (sale price) and the lienholder’s appraisal came in at $360,000. This is not unusual in my experience, as often the buyer’s lender efforts result in an appraisal pretty close to the sale price. Not sure why that is, but it is often the case.
It is one of the reasons I think the buyer should give the appraisal to the seller to give to their lien holder, hopefully pre-empting the lien holder’s desire to spend the money on another, which often is higher. However many buyer’s are counseled to not spend the money on the appraisal prior to lienholder approval. I think the $450 is worth it and can help. My personal opinion, of course.
I agree with your second paragraph…without reservation 🙂
With regard to a buyer, often I recommend that they be willing to risk losing the inspection and appraisal monies (unless their are multiple offers) shortly after the seller accepts the contract, and in advance of lienholder approval. But I find that I am in the minority opinion on that. This is particularly true if I suspect the inspection might reveal issues that would cause the buyer to not want the house. Better for all to know this up front, and not wait 3 months for lien holder approval to find out they don’t really want it at all.
What are your thoughts on the buyer doing their inspection and appraisal after they have seller acceptance and before they have lienholder approval? I find my advice in that regard is not consistent and depends on the house and some other factors, including my buyer’s total cash available.
Craig, do you really think that a buyer would have any realistic chance of success on a claim of breach of good faith and fair dealing in such a case where a) the relevant short-selling lender approval condition were a new personal (unsecured) obligation for the deficiency, and b) the condition was conspicuous and apparent to the challenging party at the time of contract acceptnce? It seems like that would be quite a burden on the plaintiff to succeed on such a claim.
Dear Ardell:
As an attorney, a real estate broker and a trainer in this arena I must commend you for your chart but take issue with your conclusion that, “Most of the time the delay is because the owner wants forgiveness of debt, and the lender needs the owner to prove current and long term “hardship
Michael:
The seller “would be advised” that his is a two step process, and the first step is to sign “whatever note [is] put in front” of the seller??? As an attorney, tell me, who is doing this “advising”? Whoever it is, he or she is violating duties owed to the seller (both an agent and a lawyer have an obligation to the other party that is inconsistent with this “advice”).
Craig,
Advice as to how to handle debt is legal advice and should be untertaken between attorney and client. If the seller (client)
does nothing he/she will have a record of a foreclosure and owe
100% on the junior debt. Over 50% of the lender’s payoffs are incorrect. This is not an accounting. Generally speaking the
note will be either the remainder of the debt not paid off on the subordinate loan or that agreed to between the parties. What duties does this violate and by whom?
Michael: “The instances where a deal falls apart due to the recalcitrance of the seller due insistence on the “forgivness
Michael, so you are saying a seller would be well-advised to sign a note as a condition to a short sale even in a single-mortgage situation? I’m not sure about you, but if I were months late on my payments (and thus my credit were already damaged), I just might consider letting the same lender foreclose, resulting in my being free of that debt. Classic case of when a foreclosure might be better than a short sale.
No, not in a single mortgage situation. Even in foreclosure the single lender is only entitled to the property not payment per se.
Michael,
Thank you for your comments. I think often the “holdup” is due to the “sense of urgency”. If the seller is not behind in their payments, or only 1 or 2 payments behind, I think the buyer is in it for the long haul more so than when foreclosure is imminent.
What is your experience with regard to the hardship not being extreme, and the seller not being very far behind in their payments?
For instance where the seller has taken ill and not expected to recover, there is little hope for improvement of that situation. But when the seller has been working consistently for 10 or more years and recently lost their job, the expectation that they will get another job before foreclosure, if they are only a couple of payments behind, could slow up an approval.
Ardell,
A Distressed sale by definition does not involve a “willing seller”. The buyer’s motivation must be price as their can be no guarantees that the sale will be able to close let alone for the buyer to ever take possession. Both agents (if their are two) have the duty to their respectice clients to determine whether the seller is “qualified” that is to say commited to the liquidation of his/her property because of lack of equity and unaffordability, period. They if possible should have already spoken to licenced professionals to determine bankruptcy, tax and modification issues and be ready to “let it go”. Problem deals get started with “non qualified” sellers, deals to close to the foreclosure date and untrained agents.
Michael,
2) I can’t imagine having an “unwilling client” relationship, so while your definition I’m sure is legally accurate as to “unwilling seller”…I can’t get my brain around that. Perhaps their willingness is all about necessity, but there are many papers that need to be submitted by the seller for the buyer to have a chance at a positive result. So “reluctantly willing” I can see, but “unwilling seller” does not compute.
Ardell,
You are overlooking the most important component of this seller. He/she is losing their home. I refer you to Kubler-Ross’s “Five Stages of Grief” which until the seller passes through their course they are “unwilling” no matter how many “papers” they sign.
Michael said:”You are overlooking…they are “unwilling
Good discussion
Prequalify a short seller for willingness (acceptance of all
outcomes after professional counseling) and at least the seller will no longer try to control the outcome! More deals will close.
I am hearing that some people are being promised that the short sale process will give them money in hand, which is not the case. Seems part of the confusion stems from short sale classes open to both agents and owners, and the owners are mistaking some of the material for promises to them vs. the agents in the room.
Michael said: “More deals will close.”
That’s just sad, Michael. I hope people counseling sellers have more interest in the seller’s overall well being than “the deal closing”.
When foreclosure is imminent and the seller strongly wants the property sold short vs. a foreclosure, everyone wins.
No room for ambivalence.
Michael said: “More deals will close.”
That’s just sad, Michael. I hope people counseling sellers have more interest in the seller’s overall well being than “the deal closing”.
When foreclosure is imminent and the seller strongly wants the property sold short vs. a foreclosure, everyone wins.
No room for ambivalence.
Any one reading this should be very careful about what is written here. You need a competant attorney who deals in foreclosure and bankruptcy to help you with a short sale today.
David,
The post is intended to shed some light on the process for buyers of short sales. To that end, the people for whom I wrote it have expressed appreciation.
Not sure why you think blogs are “scary”. More information is always better, even if all it does is help people better formulate their questions before meeting with the attorney, to make that meeting more productive.
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Ardell this is bad information. The attorneys bickering only clouds the issue further.
In my opinion the short sale process has become a gamble for every one. In my office there are nineteen short sales. My deal is dying a natural death as it should.
We are in completely uncharted waters here. In the next six weeks between the first of July and the middle of September we will be able to see more clearly what this Real Estate market place is made of.
Today investors are watching the Fed. That is always a bad sign. Good news or bad, having a market place holding a collective breath for a Fed meeting means there is little or no direction.
Until the economy has some legs under it a buyer should be looking at deals that are doable now.
Ardell this is bad information. The attorneys bickering only clouds the issue further.
In my opinion the short sale process has become a gamble for every one. In my office there are nineteen short sales. My deal is dying a natural death as it should.
We are in completely uncharted waters here. In the next six weeks between the first of July and the middle of September we will be able to see more clearly what this Real Estate market place is made of.
Today investors are watching the Fed. That is always a bad sign. Good news or bad, having a market place holding a collective breath for a Fed meeting means there is little or no direction.
Until the economy has some legs under it a buyer should be looking at deals that are doable now.
David,
I agree a small percentage of them close, but that is because many are not paying attention to this GOOD information. Those who refuse to believe that these factors are relevant, are wasting everyone’s time. So I’m glad you will stick to those that are doable for you.
Please don’t call information “bad” and “scary” just because you don’t understand it. I was contacted today by a buyer whose agent won’t help him make an offer on a short sale. Now what? Should everyone ignore his needs because he’s already “working with an agent” who won’t be bothered with a short sale?
You statement about the economy is all the MORE reason someone should be looking at short sales and bank owned properties. More insurance against further declines if you buy at BELOW today’s level.
I don’t do commercial…never liked it. I prefer residential and I prefer people who are buying to live in a property vs. investors. You can choose to dislike short sales. But that’s no reason to suggest EVERYONE should walk away from them. This information is GOOD David, and when even the attorneys do not agree on everything, all the better to have the discussion, as we ALL learn from that discussion.
Last I looked you were primarily in the cleaning business. Why take such a stand as to how people whose passion is helping people buy and sell real estate should conduct their business? I worked in banking for 19.6 years before real estate for 19 years. Trust me, David. This info is not “bad” or “scary”, and to do real estate today one must be willing to do the tough stuff, because there are too many people who rely on us for help.
“doable” = what? “Easy”? Easy is very scary, David. Be VERY afraid of too easily “doable” in a market like this one. Easy will come back to bite your client’s in the butt.
David,
I agree a small percentage of them close, but that is because many are not paying attention to this GOOD information. Those who refuse to believe that these factors are relevant, are wasting everyone’s time. So I’m glad you will stick to those that are doable for you.
Please don’t call information “bad” and “scary” just because you don’t understand it. I was contacted today by a buyer whose agent won’t help him make an offer on a short sale. Now what? Should everyone ignore his needs because he’s already “working with an agent” who won’t be bothered with a short sale?
You statement about the economy is all the MORE reason someone should be looking at short sales and bank owned properties. More insurance against further declines if you buy at BELOW today’s level.
I don’t do commercial…never liked it. I prefer residential and I prefer people who are buying to live in a property vs. investors. You can choose to dislike short sales. But that’s no reason to suggest EVERYONE should walk away from them. This information is GOOD David, and when even the attorneys do not agree on everything, all the better to have the discussion, as we ALL learn from that discussion.
Last I looked you were primarily in the cleaning business. Why take such a stand as to how people whose passion is helping people buy and sell real estate should conduct their business? I worked in banking for 19.6 years before real estate for 19 years. Trust me, David. This info is not “bad” or “scary”, and to do real estate today one must be willing to do the tough stuff, because there are too many people who rely on us for help.
“doable” = what? “Easy”? Easy is very scary, David. Be VERY afraid of too easily “doable” in a market like this one. Easy will come back to bite your client’s in the butt.
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Thank you all for your comments. Any one willing to advise me? We are walking away from a home home purchase because seller is in denial as to current market. The appraisal is killing the deal. We have good credit, very good retirement income, could put $200,000 down.
So now we have found a great home that we really want to buy. Purchased by seller for 585,000 in 2005. Has first, second and equi-line amounting to 620,000. Listed last week as a short sale for 411,000. We offered 450,000 yesterday, as is, with pre-qualified loan approval and minimal contingencies.
From public records, doesn’t appear this house is in default, making me think seller and listing agent are clueless if they think they’ll get a short sale. Selling agent tells our agent we’ll have to be really patient. Fair enough; we’re renting (even though we own two rental homes), so our only rush is to capture historically low interest rates and tax credit for first time home buyer.
From our point of view, we’re facing a byzantine bank procedure on approval of the short sale, compounded by our lender’s loan contingent on the appraisal of a sinking price structure. We’re squeezed between foolish lenders trying to limit the losses from their bad decisions and new lenders trying not to make the same mistake
What questions should we be asking the seller and his agent before we provide all the documents that will allow him to present our offer to the lien holders?
Thank you all for your comments. Any one willing to advise me? We are walking away from a home home purchase because seller is in denial as to current market. The appraisal is killing the deal. We have good credit, very good retirement income, could put $200,000 down.
So now we have found a great home that we really want to buy. Purchased by seller for 585,000 in 2005. Has first, second and equi-line amounting to 620,000. Listed last week as a short sale for 411,000. We offered 450,000 yesterday, as is, with pre-qualified loan approval and minimal contingencies.
From public records, doesn’t appear this house is in default, making me think seller and listing agent are clueless if they think they’ll get a short sale. Selling agent tells our agent we’ll have to be really patient. Fair enough; we’re renting (even though we own two rental homes), so our only rush is to capture historically low interest rates and tax credit for first time home buyer.
From our point of view, we’re facing a byzantine bank procedure on approval of the short sale, compounded by our lender’s loan contingent on the appraisal of a sinking price structure. We’re squeezed between foolish lenders trying to limit the losses from their bad decisions and new lenders trying not to make the same mistake
What questions should we be asking the seller and his agent before we provide all the documents that will allow him to present our offer to the lien holders?
“What questions should we be asking the seller and his agent before we provide all the documents that will allow him to present our offer to the lien holders?”
The lienholder usually makes their decision based on % of current value based on a BPO or appraisal or both. They don’t change that number, generally speaking, if you have no agent. To the best o my knowledge (and everyone’s knowledge is dependent on the viewpoint of different lenders) you should hire an agent who would ask those questions. For some reason, agents and sellers are more forthcoming to other agents, than buyers direct.
I’m assuming from your question that you are not using the services of an agent. So my question is, why not if it has no monetary advantage?
Yes, We are using both buying and selling agents. From discussions with our agent, this is only her second short sale. I’m not certain of the experience of the listing agent, though he has been in the business for quite awhile. Our concern is to structure our offer to make it most likely to get approved, given the certainty that it will appraise for 150-200,000 below the liens held by two lenders.
Dean,
Why are you walking away? I lost you there.
Sorry for lack of clarity. We’re walking from a previous purchase because of the spread between purchase agreement and appraisal. Not really relevant to my questions to you.
Dean,
I am limited by the fact that you have an agent in that we cannot as agents “interfere” with that relationship. From your side the offer usually needs to be within 15% of current value as determined by the seller’s lender. Generally speaking that is often the case depending on the lender. So it is not a function of what is owed as much as it is a function of their idea of current value.
Often there is a 3rd person who negotiates these things with the bank on behalf of both the buyer and the seller. A specialist. Can be an attorney, someone at the Title/Escrow Company. And the info they obtain is often not shared with you as it is personal info of the seller that you are not privy to. But they can use that information to advise you and the seller both.
Wanting a high degree of certainty as to outcome and ongoing status, just doesn’t match a short sale situation. The discount IF you get it should be compensation for the risks of possibly not getting it. Lots and lots of patience required and sometimes an added expert who has done a lot of them. Best if they have experience with that particular lender.
Most times if the short sale does not go through, you get to buy the property at foreclosure or as a bank owned property. So the outcome for you should be that you get the house as long as the owners aren’t able to keep it and no one offers higher than you. Most times buyers just give up because they don’t want it enough to deal with the process.
Thank you, Ardell. It is with our seller’s agent’s concurrence that we are trying to get the best information possible–so that we can have the greatest chance of making a successful purchase offer. As I said, this is her second or third short sale offer. If the seller is current with mortgages, but just wants to get out his obligations, don’t we need to know that. As I believe is mentioned in posts above, only one in ten are approved. We’re trying to decide whether to include addendum that requires seller to agree to all terms of lien holders, i.e. sign a new obligation, clear of our hoped for property.
Dean,
I ask you to look at the charts again. The buyer’s side does not change. The seller’s side changes and consequently greatly impacts the buyer. That being true does not change the fact that you are not entitled to know the seller’s bank account balance or any personal details of the seller’s financial picture. Yes it would be most helpful for you to know that, but it’s also a confidence that needs to be treated with ultimate respect for a family’s right to privacy.
Ideally the agent for the seller would be the only one privy to this information, would understand the consequence to buyers, and would refuse the listing if there was no hope for buyers. But there are cases where a bank has approved a short sale when there was no balance due as to current payments and the seller had other monies. The facts do not point to a clear yes or no…they equal 10% chance to 90% chance. There are no absolutes as to Yes it will happen or No it won’t.
That IS a short sale. As I have said many times, “it is a house that is MAYBE for sale”. If you can’t live with that answer, and many cannot, then maybe a short sale is not for you.
This post is to give people some guidelines, such as “give it 90 days and then start looking for some firmer answers”. If you don’t have 90 days til a possible “we don’t know yet” answer…then that is your choice and decision.
I’ve been doing one since September of 2008, that has no clear outcome yet. The buyer has a lease until December of 2009, but the no knowing is still difficult, even though a yes answer today could cause more problems than a “still maybe”. Best answer for the buyer would come close to the end of the lease period…still the waiting and not knowing is a heavy factor. That person wants THAT house and no other in that time, strong enough to hang in there. Only you can answer that question, and only from YOUR side of the fence. Ce la vie…
Kim, my partner, is saying the heart of the matter is about left brain; right brain. Left brain is “inspection is in 2 days…closing will be ON the 30th…possibly a day or two leeway at most”.
Short Sales are full of right brain maybe’s and “who knows?”, with no charted calendar of when and no real answer to will it happen at all, ever.
Every buyer would love to know every seller’s everything…always. “What’s the lowest number the seller will take?” “Why is the seller selling the house?” “What are the things the seller DOESN’T like about his house?” “Why did the buyer who was in escrow cancel?” Even when a buyer gets answers to these questions, they only have a 50/50 chance of being true and complete, because they are the seller’s side of the equation. Sometimes the buyer who cancelled makes up a reason that isn’t true at all, so the seller doesn’t even have the REAL answer to that question.
For instance if you decide to cancel, you may say it is because the seller won’t get approval. The seller will say “the buyer gave up for their own good and personal reasons”. Both may be true.
You say: (you)”are trying to get the best information possible–so that we can have the greatest chance of making a successful purchase offer.” That is ALL on your side.
I will give you this one piece of advice. If you are not giving it your best shot, you probably won’t get it. That is almost always the case. Your “best” shot is all on your side of the table, and you have all the info you need to give it your best shot. That’s what you need to do IF you are willing to put up with the waiting, and not knowing.
The only way for you to know the seller’s side in the chart is if the seller is willing to give it, or the agent for the seller screws up and tells it to your agent without the express written permission of the seller. Your greatest chance to get the info you want and need, is if the agent for the seller “screws up”.