During the second week of 2009 I was notified that the offers my clients (two different Ventura County home buyers) had submitted on two different Short Sale homes had finally been considered by the lenders (two different lenders).

You see, in September and then in October of 2008, my clients placed an offer on two different properties in Oxnard, Ventura County, California.  At the time that my clients placed their offers on these two homes, our offers were the best and highest offers.

For many weeks, my clients waited patiently for the lenders to study the short sale file and the associated offers.  Meanwhile, I recommended to my buyers that we continue looking at more properties until we received news of confirmation from the lenders.

Finally, the lenders came back with the price at which they are willing to short sale these homes.

In both cases my clients’ offers were very close to the price the lenders were willing to short sell these properties.  However, both of my clients choose not to buy these homes they had once fallen in love with and were willing to call home just two – three months earlier!!!!

Why you may ask?

Since the time of my clients’ offer the average home prices in Oxnard have fallen by 15.7%.

The amount of time it takes for lenders to:

1. Respond to a short sale request from the home owner.
2. Review and accept (or counter) any offer from a home buyer  (2-3 months)
3. More recently, The reduction of home prices in the interim

has turned off many buyers from purchasing a short sale.  The continued, appreciable decline in home prices from the time of the home buyer’s initial offer to the time the lender comes back with an answer is moving this well beyond an issue of patience and tenacity to one of fiscal common-sense.  Most home buyers understand that there is some risk of future home price reduction, but these long delays turn that future concern into a real-time reality and has become another factor causing home buyers to Not Look at short sales.

I understand that lenders have their own protocols and systems of dealing with short sales.  I also understand that lenders do not want to lose a significant amount of money by agreeing to short sale a property.   However, it does not take a rocket scientist to calculate that lenders are losing a great deal of money by not moving faster on short sales.

When a short sale is not successful the home eventually goes through the foreclosure process and becomes the lender’s property.  The foreclosure process itself is a rather lengthy and costly process.  In a majority of these cases the lender ends up placing the home on the market again; usually for a lot less.

I am not trying to discourage you from purchasing a short sale home in Ventura County.  I am merely trying to point out the facts associated with purchasing a short sale home in Ventura County.

Not all short sales are this lengthy.  As a matter of fact, I have closed short sale deals for clients where the lender got back to us in 2 weeks, and 30 days after that my clients had keys to their new home.

It is very important that your Realtor discovers where the home seller is in the short sale process and keeps you appraised of any updates or changes.  Also, it is very important for you, the home buyer, to be patient and keep your options open.

If you need any further information with purchasing a short sale home in Ventura County please don’t hesitate to contact me, Mana Tulberg, your Ventura County Realtor.