CDPE Certification

Just received a new certification – Certified Distress Property Expert, or CDPE.  I chose to work on this certificatoin as there are SO many people that are upside down in their home, and facing foreclosure.  There just had to be another option.  There are actually several.  One of the most misunderstood, and most likely to help, are the short sales.   

A short sale is SO much better than a foreclosure.  Even though credit is damaged, with time, it can be overcome.  With a foreclosure, it is on public record – therefore, always “on record” and a short sale is not. 

One word of caution – on either a foreclosure OR a short sale, the lender has the right to seek a deficiency judgement.  Most are not, at the moment, because when a family gets in that situation, they usually do not have the assets to warrant a deficiency judgement.  But, that is the lender’s call.  That is one item, among many, that I would negotiate with the lender for the homeowner.

Short Sales

A “short sale” is a descriptive word for a property that is “upside down.”  The seller can’t sell the house for what the loan is, due to the market prices falling. 

The best thing to do would be to hold onto the property until the market adjusts.  However, in the real world, that just doesn’t work.  If a seller must sell the property, the seller should contact their lender(s) immediately.  The lender usually requires a “hardship” or “financial” package to be filled out by the seller.  That should be completed immediately so that the lender can begin working on the short sale.  Sometimes the bank asks that a real estate professional complete a market analysis to be sent in with the short sale package.   Upon receipt, the package is assigned to a “negotiator” and usually an actual appraisal is ordered to back up the market analysis.

While that is happening, the property can be listed for the market value.  When a contract is submitted, that contract must be sent to the negotiator.  From that point the bank will approve or counter the contract and issue an approval for the short sale, or short payoff.  What the lender is actually doing, is accepting less money than what would pay off the loan – and either forgiving the debt, or issuing a judgement against the seller for the balance.  Every lender is different in that regard. 

Once the short sale approval has been received, go for it and close it! 

A precaution – if a buyer is ready to buy and needs to close within 30 to 60 days, a short sale may not be for them.  Go directly for a foreclosed property, which is a totally different type transaction.  A short sale can take months – yes, months, like in 6 to 8.    A short sale transaction is only for the MOST patient of people.

For more information – call or write me -

Jamie Kimbrough, CRS GRI, RE/MAX Alliance, Castle Rock, CO

Serving the Denver Metro Area for over 12 years!  And, experience counts…

Hello world!

Here we go a blogging.  Who created that word, anyway? 

The purpose of this blog is to keep friends, clients and potential clients up to date on the real estate market – most specifically in Douglas County, and narrowing it down to Castle Rock and various sub areas .

We think 2009 will be a MUCH better year in the real estate market, and that house prices have pretty much bottomed out.  I just read that of the number of homes that sold in Denver Metro, 45% of those were foreclosures or short sales.  This means that a good portion of the buyers out there are looking for a deal – AND that the distressed properties are being bought up – Good News!

Come back and tune in for a lesson in Short Sales. What is a short sale, anyway?