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The Short Sale Process: Let me break it down… |
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have had 3 deals recently fall apart after the listing agent advertised a “Short Sale” property that never closed. Just to clarify, this is AFTER the sellers and buyers agreed on a sales price. Most home sale contracts in South Florida are listed as a “Short Sale”, meaning that the lender on the property is willing to sell the property for less than what is owed. If negotiated properly, the seller does not have to pay back the difference of the sales price and principal balance owed. If there is a 2nd mortgage, that usually can be renegotiated down to 5%-10% of the remaining balance.
You see, the problem here is the listing realtor over promised and under delivered to his client and to us. It takes an experienced negotiator and significant leg work to negotiate a complete short sale. What’s happening, is many realtors think any property with negative equity will automatically qualify for a Short Sale. That’s NOT true! There is specific criteria that the property, the homeowners, and the buyer have to meet, before the bank will approve a short sale. To complicate things even more, several other parties need to get involved before closing on the short sale, like Title, Appraiser(s) (Yes- sometimes more than 1), Home Inspectors, notary, etc… and every party must submit documents within a limited time frame! Other obstacles to prepare for, fall back on the lender, they are swamped with short sale and modification files. Without knowing the tricks to bypass their gatekeepers, you will likely see a delay of 90+ days before you get solid answers on the options for your property.
The strategy we have implemented is simple… it comes from experience personally and as a team. After evaluating your whole financial situation and discussing your options, we typically do the following…
Step 1. Modify the loan for either temporary or permanent relief. Additionally, foreclosure prevention/defense through attorneys can pro-long the foreclosure process over 12-24 months. This buys more than enough time, to find a buyer or a resolve a satisfactory loan workout with your lender(s).
Step 2. Assuming the ultimate goal is to Short Sale the property, we begin finding buyers and gathering ALL the paperwork your lender needs to approve/deny/counter an offer.
Step 3. Evaluate the final details of the offer, including the factors directly affecting you as the seller. There are many details relating to the remaining principal, your credit, back taxes, arrears, penalty fees, etc… that are over looked. We make sure, you don’t get the short end of the stick! |
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2 Townhouses Close In Center Grove |
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 There were two more townhouse sales in Center Coconut Grove last week. This is encouraging news for the nearly stagnant townhouse market.
The fact that they were both 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and newer construction would make you think that they should sell for a similar price – but the sales prices were $505,000 and $435,000.
In general, the exterior of the townhouses in Center Grove tend to look exactly the same but they can vary greatly on the interior depending on the builder and the footprint of the lot. If you have been inside a few of them you will know that different builders use different quality materials and different layouts. Some townhouses have a large backyard while others have virtually no backyard. Some have large bedrooms with smaller living spaces or vice versa. These differences can cause the sale prices here to be quite erratic.
Due to the fact that there is so much on the market in Center Coconut Grove, it is helpful to have a realtor who knows the market, the quality of the different builders and the streets that have the best value |
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2 New Construction Homes SOLD |
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There were two new construction sales this week in Coconut Grove. They add to the list of the many $1,000,000+ sales Coconut Grove has seen in the 4th quarter of 2009.
I represented the buyers for the sale on 1666 Micanopy Avenue. It closed today for $1,440,000.
Details of the house include:
- 4,777 square feet of living area
- 7,500 square foot lot
- 5 bedrooms, 5.5 baths
- Sold for $301.00 per square foot
The second house is located on 1770 Espanola Drive which sold for $1,450,000. It came on the market in 2007 while it was still under construction. I showed the house to many clients over the years and had one client make an offer last month but it was beat out by the current buyers.
Details of the house include:
- 4,723 square feet of living area
- 7,000 square foot lot
- 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths
- Sold for $307.00 per square foot
If you are interested in buying or selling real estate in Coconut Grove give me a call
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Market Update For Grove Isle |
 For Sale In Grove Isle
There are currently 23 units on the market in Grove Isle, a private island in North Coconut Grove that consists of 3 residential towers. There are no short sales or foreclosures on the market in Grove Isle as of today.
The units range in price from $475,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath on the 3rd floor all the way up to $3,500,000 for a 5 bedroom, 5 bath on the 16th floor.
2009 Sold In Grove Isle
There have been 14 condos to close in Grove Isle in 2009, 2 of these were foreclosures. Sale prices have ranged from $320,000 (for a 2 bedroom/2 bath on the 2nd floor – not a foreclosure) all the way up to a $1,300,000 sale (for a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath on the 8th floor). On average, the sales price per square foot of condos sold in Grove Isle during 2009 has been $297.00.
For Comparison – 2008 Sold In Grove Isle
Just as a point of reference, there were 19 units sold during 2008 in Grove Isle. The average sales price per square foot in 2008 was $398.00.
So if you compare 2008 with 2009, the average sale price per square foot has gone down by $100.00. That means that there is certainly value to be gained in Grove Isle right now.
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