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| Danny Batsalkin |
Perseverance definitely pays off for real estate agents and home buyers when trying to close on a short sale or REO deal. Just ask Danny Batsalkin of Rodeo Realty’s Beverly Hills office. He recently wrote on his blog that he closed a deal in Carthay Circle, Los Angeles after more than six months of going round and round with lenders.
The buyers -Batsalkin’s clients- originally submitted an offer on their dream home when it was listed as a short sale. The offer was accepted by the seller and submitted to the bank for review. After approx. three months, the bank finally began negotiating the short sale. The buyers were then informed the bank would likely approve their offer.
However there was a snag. The second lien holder, who was owed several hundred thousand dollars, would not cooperate in the short sale without a sizable owner contribution. The owner was not able to comply with these terms and the first lien holder was forced to foreclose on the home. This effectively wiped out the buyers’ offer.
Although the buyers were extremely disappointed, Batsalkin reassured them the house would come back on the market as a bank owned property and they would still have a chance to purchase it. He kept his eye on the property, following up with the bank almost daily. Eventually, Batsalkin found out who the new listing agent would be.
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| Carthay Circle Home |
The buyers submitted a new offer on the property and, although there were multiple offers, the buyers prevailed and got the house.
This is an important story to keep in mind, because short sales and REO deals are a large percentage of the local residential real estate market these days.
In Southern California last month, the number of distressed sales — the combination of foreclosures and short sales — accounted for well over half of the market for previously owned properties, according to the Los Angeles Times, which sourced DataQuick.
Foreclosures made up 37.1% of the market and short sales 19.8%. Absentee buyers — mostly investors and some second-home purchasers — bought a record 26.1% of Southland homes sold in February, paying a median $198,000. Buyers who paid cash accounted for a record 31.7% of February home sales, paying a median $200,000.