Short Sales on Cape Cod

For those of you looking to invest on Cape Cod, short sales are some of your best options. They allow you to avoid a competitive auction atmosphere that Foreclosure or Bank Owned properties often experience. They are often overlooked by investors only familiar with buying foreclosure properties because the process is much different and the learning process can be unappealing. Short sale purchases involve a longer process which requires more patience. If you are interested in investing and can be patient they can often offer great reward.

Short sales, or Pre-Foreclosure properties, are properties where the current owner, for whatever reason, can no longer afford to make the payments on their home and they have negotiated with their bank to make a short sale. If their loan is not a FHA loan the owner or an advocate can speak with the sellers lender to market their home to the public for current market value - often for less, or short, of what is owed on the mortgage.

US regulations and lender positions on Short Sales has improved, especially on Cape Cod. The sub-prime mortgage crisis and dropping house values has greatly affected marginal home owners on Cape and this provides a crisis for local lenders who have costs associated with defaulting mortgages. This has made banks more willing to negotiate a short sale to avoid foreclosing on the property.

Buying a short sale requires patience. Banks will only respond to offers once they are ready to review the case and not when an offer is received, no matter how good it is. They will often not even accept an offer as written in Massachusetts. Instead the bank does their due diligence and once comfortable with an offer they will go straight to a purchase and sale agreement and push to close quickly. Their response to an offer typically is when they only order a BPO (broker price opinion). It isn't a formal response but an indication that they are working on the file and an answer should be soon.

A BPO provides estimates of the current market value of the property from several sources, typically REALTORS or appraisers in the area. If they bank feels it is in their best interest to accept the offer based on the property value and market conditions they will move for a P&S and to close quickly.

Buyers must have financing in place when an acceptance comes from the seller’s bank. Failure to be properly prepared to close with either cash on hand or a clear to close from your lender often will result in the loss of the property to another buyer or the property will move into foreclosure. Having an experienced REALTOR that understands all aspects of this process is critical. As a buyer and seller agent I represent dozens of clients as buyers or sellers through this process and I am intimately familiar with all aspects of this type of investment.

Please look for more information in the future about short sales and investing on Cape Cod. Below are a few properties that are available for short sales on and near Cape Cod.

For a complete list of Short Sales on Cape Cod or a specific area of interest send an email with your request to: Info@CapeCodShortSales.com. Feel free to post any questions on this blog and you can expect a response with-in 24 hours.

To search for more Cape Cod homes that may be in pre-foreclosure visit this Cape Cod real estate website.

Cristina is a REALTOR and Broker and has been servicing the real estate needs of the Cape Cod community for almost 10 years. She speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish fluently and is an expert negotiator.

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW EACH PHOTO FOR MORE DETAILS:


$310,000 - Single Family - Hyannis, MA - 4 bed, 2 full bath, 1,296 sqft, 0.3 acre

$302,000 Single Family - Sandwich, MA - 3 bed, 2 full bath, 1,428 sqft, 0.35 acre




$249,000 Single Family - Centerville, MA - 3 bed, 3 full bath, 1,198 sqft, 0.34 acre





$205,000 Single Family - Hyannis, MA - 3 bed, 1 full bath, 1,296 sqft, 0.29 acre



$199,000 Single Family - Buzzards Bay, MA - 2 bed, 1 full bath, 875 sqft, 0.18 acre



$184,000 Condo/Townhome - Centerville, MA - 2 bed, 1 full bath, 1,155 sqft




$160,000 Single Family - Hyannis, MA - 4 bed, 2 full bath, 1,174 sqft, 0.16 acre




$119,000 Condo/Townhome - Hyannis, MA - 2 bed, 2 full bath, 845 sqft

Contact Cristina anytime at 508/737-5280 with question about investing on Cape Cod, purchasing, selling, or negotiating investment real estate. She can also be reached at Cristina@ForSaleByCristina.com.