A while back I wrote a piece on the advisability of "short sales," with a reference to TMG West and its principal Bill Gordon. Wanting to stay current on the subject I called Bill the other day to see how things in that segment of the market were going, and it turns out that the news isn't great.
Instead of getting easier, short sales seem to be getting more difficult to get done. According to Bill's experience, some lenders (Ocwen Financial, for instance) are reported to have instituted policies halting them altogether, while still others, like Countrywide, have restricted the review process to the last few days before the completion of the foreclosure sale itself.
To me the most telling news of my phone conversation with Bill is that his company has stopped doing them altogether. They're just too hard to get done and more often than not they wind up wasting everyone's time.
For those who are unsure of what, exactly, a short sale is, just today there is an article in the Philadelphia Enquirer describing the process. It doesn't say much as to whether these things make any sense, but it does give you some of the basic info.
My own spin on whether they are worth the effort to even attempt is that it depends. On who the lender is. On what the difference between your loans and the value of the property. On whether the property is a principal residence, second home or investment vehicle. On what the rest of your financial condition looks like. On whether you stand to gain anything or whether the risks outweigh the benefits.
Be careful of short sale boosters. But then that goes for anyone in this market who advocates a one size fits all remedy to a distressed real estate asset. There is no single solution...except for a market turnaround.
