Investors Listing & Buying Short Sales?

Have you been contacted by an investor that wants to list and buy your short sale? Here are five tips to think about and questions to ask before listing with them. We will cover more on another day.

1). Are they requiring the use of their preferred listing agent or REALTOR? If so who is that listing agent representing. Who is going over the listing agreement with you? Is it the investor who is buying the property or the listing agent who is supposed to represent you?

2). Make sure you receive and fully understand the agency disclosure and election. NO real esate transaction should ever take place without a buyer AND seller acknowledging both sides by signing this!

3). What are the current market comparables to your home? Ask for this and review them. Make sure the homes accurately represent yours.

4). Short sale addendum, make sure there is a short sale addendum included and you thoroughly read and understand it.

5). Look for, Read and Understand the opt out clause. Generally as a seller if you accept a buyer's offer, you must sell your home to them. In the presence of a short sale though, the sale is contingent upon the lender's or "third parties" approval (if a short sale addendum is included).

A bonus tip when you are working with investors, is to make sure all of the forms are drafted from boiler plate Arizona Association of REALTORS forms. These forms are created in the interest of the general public. Please please please if you do not understand any of the forms, consult an attorney to help explain them to you.

If you are approached by an investor looking to purchase your home, please also interview other agents whose primary focus is to sell your home rather than buy it to make a profit. A traditional REALTOR has the same goal as you which is to sell the home. Not to buy it in hopes to make a big profit.

Contact Marie Zubkoff at 480.233.7051 or Andrew Walsh at 602.527.2639 with US Preferred Realty to discuss your Arizona Real Estate needs. If you are a buyer or seller, we can help. visit us at http://YourGilbertHome.com Thank you!

Is Mandatory Title Insurance too Costly?

Read the following article about title insurance in the Wall Street Journal written by James R. Hagerty http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203739404574292542488539828.html. One of the reasons a real estate agent or builder may recommend or "prefer" to use a specific title agent is the same reason many buyer's and seller's choose to use the same real estate agent. Usually they have provided good service in the past and they have a familiarity and working history. Some title agents are better than others in service, and response. Many times a title agent assists in a real estate transaction by working with all parties to a negotiation in an unbiased fashion. In the event of some sales, a title agent may used throughout the process to prepare net sheets for a seller or a HUD-1 that may need to be presented to a bank for approval.