Metro Atlanta Real Estate Agent shares that the Home Buyers Credit and Short Sales Don’t Mix
We just got the banks acceptance of a short sale offer, which had been at the bank awaiting approval for four months. My buyer is ecstatic. Think about it, four months to get approval and then we spend another 30 days with financing, appraisals and getting to the closing table. Five months total.
Its almost the first of March and if you write an offer on a short sale home tomorrow, March 1 and it takes the four to five months to get closed as we just experienced, if you are lucky, you are closing on the last allowable day, June 30, to get the $8,000 first time homebuyer credit from the federal government. Miss that by one day and you miss the $8,000.
Now I’m not a gambling man and don’t know if you are, but, I wouldn’t risk the chance of losing $8,000 waiting on the bank. There are thousands of homes out there for sale that only need the owner, Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner to sign and then you can close in less than 45 days from offer to move-in.
I am advising my first time home buyer clients to beware of short sales if they want to get to the finish line and collect $8,000. While I know this news disturbs all the agents with short sale listings, the main reason is many agents don’t understand the short sale process and have not done the work to get the front end work done to speed up the process.
Likewise I have a couple of buyers looking to secure the $6,500 second home buyers credit and I am advising them likewise to beware of writing a contract for a new home that has not been started, up out of the ground. With all the rain we have been experiencing there is a good chance of delays when digging a foundation, pouring concrete slabs and framing up a home.
Bottom line, there are risks with short sales where you can’t control the banks and new construction where you can’t control the weather. To be sure to qualify for the first time homebuyer $8,000 and second home $6,500 write a contract that has a great chance of closing in time and don’t ride a deal down to the end only to run past June 30.
