Massachusetts short sale home inspection The Home Inspection Time Line in a Short Sale

In most Real Estate transactions, there is a buyer’s agent representing a buyer and a seller’s agent representing the seller. In a traditional purchase, the home inspection is generally done within the 1st week or two after the buyer and seller have executed a contract.

This is known as a “home inspection contingency” and allows the buyer and their home inspector the opportunity to carefully look over the home for any potential structural or mechanical defects.

If the buyer does not like the results, they generally can exercise their right not to move forward with the home purchase.

When a home inspection should be completed for a short sale property can sometimes be a bone of contention among listing and selling agents.

Buyers, of course, do not want to spend money on home inspections when they do not know for sure whether their short sale offer will get approved.

In the grand scheme of things, the cost of a home inspection is relatively minor. If you love the home, you should expect to take some risks. The cost of the inspection is one of them.

In many short sale offers I receive, the buyer’s agent will ask in the offer to let the buyer do their home inspection after the short sale approval letter comes from the lender.

As a Massachusetts short sale listing agent, however, I must protect my client’s best interests.

Letting a buyer wait until after the lenderā€™s approval to do a home inspection would allow them to walk away too late in the transaction. It could force the seller into a foreclosure sale because they would not have enough time to find another buyer.

Short Sales Are As-Is Transactions

In addition, most short sales are “as is” transactions. The seller is trying to complete a short sale, to begin with, because they do not have enough money to continue paying the mortgage.

Buyers need to understand going in that the home inspection will not be an opportunity for them to present a laundry list of repairs they want the seller to remedy.

Lastly, the buyer will not be able to negotiate any costs of repairs if the home inspection was completed after the lenderā€™s approval.

When the lender or lenders approves a short sale, it is based on a definite dollar amount they will be receiving at the closing, and they do not allow for further negotiations.

If the home inspection is done up front in a short sale, it could be possible to negotiate a credit before the offer is submitted to the lender.

For all these reasons, it makes sense that the home inspection is done before short sale approval!

Massachusetts short sale Realtor As the number of Massachusetts short sales has grown, so has the number of unqualified Realtors who have started to represent home sellers.

Picking a Massachusetts Short Sale Realtor

If you are a Massachusetts home seller and need to complete a short sale, you must realize that not every Realtor is qualified to represent a short sale!

Many consumers make extremely poor choices by working with agents that don’t have a lick of experience with getting short sales approved. Picking a good Massachusetts short-sale Realtor is critical to your success.

I see many errors constantly by agents representing sellers in short sales throughout the Metrowest area. If you are considering doing a short sale, I would highly recommend reading some of the short sale articles I have written below.

The articles cover some of the considerations and mistakes you want to avoid when trying to complete a short sale successfully.

As a home seller, you must remember that tons of short sales across the country do not get approved and end up in foreclosure. Sometimes this is due to the Realtor not correctly handling the sale.

Debt removal and tax consequences are discussed below, which you will want to be familiar with.

Additional Short Sale Information For Massachusetts Sellers

If you are needing to complete a short sale of your home or condo in Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, or Uxbridge MA, get in touch.

I would love to interview for the chance to represent your best interests.

I am completing short sales throughout the Metrowest, Massachusetts area. So far, knock on wood, I have a 100% success rate for short sale approval!

If you are outside of the Metrowest Massachusetts area and need to complete a short sale, please feel free to contact me, and I would be happy to refer you to a Realtor in your location that handles short sales and knows what they are doing! I have referred short sales to other Realtors all around the country.

 


About the Author: The above Real Estate information on when to do a short sale home inspection is provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for 36+ Years.

Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!

I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.