Short sales seem to be the talk of the town lately. With the announcement that Fannie and Freddie will require servicers to comply to new timelines, and recent commentary buzzing about short sales being the housing market’s knight in shining armor, it’s hard to miss them.
But, good news, that timeline and the possibility that short sales could be some sort of savior are boosted because buyers and sellers are generally more educated about the process. That, as you may imagine, speeds things up considerably.
Gagan Sharma, president and CEO of BSI Financial Services, spoke on a panel called “How do you make short sales attractive (Hint: it isn’t by dropping the price)” at SourceMedia’s mortgage servicing conference in Dallas-Fort Worth on Wednesday.
“A better educated borrower from our perspective is a better borrower,” he said, noting that the more a buyer is educated about the process, the less in denial they are about their ability to get themselves back on track. This, he said, leads to a more rational discussion that results in a faster turnaround and an easier time for the servicer and the homeowner.
Kimberly Dawson, a short sale production executive for Bank of America [stock BAC][/stock], agreed with Sharma, and said more agents are also catching on to the short sale process.
“Agents that have done short sales before are just much, much more effective,” she said. Because of this, BofA offers training to prep agents to complete the process.
“They are the primary person that guides the process and ensures it’s success,” she said. “And that’s easier now since more people have gone through the process and understand it.”
Of course, promises of more short sales is nothing new to this industry.
