Experience Southern Utah

In 2009, 70% of All House Sales in Saint George, Utah Were Short Sales or Foreclosures

A "short sale" on a piece of real estate means that the property can no longer fetch enough money to pay off the loan on that real estate.  It is a very precarious time for a person trying to sell that property and for the lender who loaned out the money for the owner to buy the piece some time earlier. 

Others refer to this situation as being "upside-down" on a mortgage, and having to do a short sale to get rid of a property is no picnic for anyone; oftentimes, everyone loses:  The seller, the bank, and the real estate agent involved in the sale. 

Saint George, Utah Has Had A Lot of short Sales

A homeowner's clue that a short sale is in order comes as the monthly mortgage is no longer being paid.  Tons of scenarios here in Saint George, Utah have popped up since mid-2006 which is about when short sale properties began coming on the market by the bucket-full.  To put the blame on the buyer or the lender is an exercise in futility, because it really doesn't matter anymore.  The damage is done.  If nothing else, the owner will go away with a great education and will, hopefully, watch out in the future so they do not get themselves into a similar predicament the next time around.

And, there can be a next time.  You see, in a short sale the lender approves the entire deal.  It is up to them whether or not to accept an offer on one of their loans that is coming back to them at less than what is owed them.  Therefore, the seller of the house (and in a short sale the seller is still the person who bought property – not the bank) can be 'forgiven' the difference between what they owe the bank vs. what they harvest at closing.  It also should be obvious that a property owner involved in a short sale cannot profit at all from a short sale – all proceeds go to the lender.

Saint George Utah Home Investors Save Money on Short Sales

From a buyer's perspective short sales seem like a great way to pick up real estate at astounding prices.  To a great extent this is true.  But, if you are an investor looking at short sales, don't think for a minute that you are the only one!  That's problem number 1.  The second problem in the purchase of a short sale is the amount of time it takes to actually close on that home.  I have seen short sales go for almost a year on certain Saint George homes, and lots of times the buyer will just give up and go to another offering.  My advice is you call Lisi and Associates here in Saint George, Utah and we'll go out and find a short sale that's been going on for awhile. 

If you are a property owner here in Saint George, Utah and you think you might need to consider a short sale to get rid of your debt on the real estate, you must know a couple of key things.  One, you will need to write a justification letter to your lender that is good enough so that they will approve of you selling your real estate for less than what you owe them.  The second item is to not be stunned when your Realtor comes in and tells you how low they are going to list your property!  The reason for this is that we need to get that first contract or offer to your lender so that they will let us know what their tolerance for loss is going to be on your loan.  What is likely to happen after that first offer comes in, is the bank will send us back to see if we can get higher offers, for they would love to recoup as much money as they can.  And, I don't blame them for that; I would, too, if I was your lender.

At a certain point in Saint George, Utah there were as many as 600 short sales going on.  This was not cool.  It caused sellers nearby who were NOT in trouble with their lenders to have to price their Saint George homes to compete with the short sales around them, thus many of them lost their equity. 

The only real good that a short sale market can claim is that it brings the real estate environment back into control; one of the causes of the most recent rash of Saint George, Utah homes in short sale situations was the phenomenal 2004 and 05 markets in Saint George when some real estate increased in value by as much as 35%.  There had to be a 'correction' somewhere down the line, and it came – big time!

To learn more about short sales give us a call at Lisi & Associates and we'll fill you in.  We can also help determine whether a short sale is in order for your property and if you will even qualify to do a short sale.  We can be reached in Saint George, Utah at 435-215-3090.