Monday, November 1, 2010

Short Sales In Myrtle Beach Becoming Easier

My friend and client, Greg Harrelson, was recently quoted in the Sun News in reference to the increasing tide of Myrtle Beach short sales. In the past several years with so many homes and condos being lost to foreclosure, short-sales have always been a part of the equation, but banks have made it so time-consuming and difficult that many agents will no longer represent one. My brother-in-law tried for a solid year to buy a condo at Bay Watch in North Myrtle Beach through a short sale. After months of delay and hold up by the bank involved, the foreign investor/owner finally found the funds to pay the loan up and the sale was stopped. So many of the transactions end up this way, all over the US, that most agents will not encourage a buyer to even try for one.

Greg feels like this trend will not continue. He says Myrtle Beach short sales will increase and are becoming more accepted and easier to close as banks are pressured to close their books on the mortgages.  Adva Saldinger with the Sun News quoted the following paragraphs from Greg:
"Greg Harrelson, the owner of Century 21 The Harrelson Group, who was also at the CDPE class earlier this week, said that the short sale segment of the local real estate market appears to be growing.

One trend he has noticed is that property owners seem to be more educated. He is fielding questions about how he might be able to help before any mortgage payments have been missed, not after foreclosure proceedings have started.

'We need to be ready for an increase in this area," he said. "I wanted to be educated enough to help these people.'

Harrelson said banks are looking to move these properties off their books and may consider improving short sale processes as one way to do that. In addition to helping property owners avoid foreclosure, short sales may also be better for the broader real estate market, he said.

'At the end of the day, hopefully the average short sale price will be above the average foreclosure price and hopefully that will stabilize the market a little bit,' Harrelson said."
The biggest problem with processing a short-sale, next to the bank's reluctance to accept a bid, is the immense quantity of paperwork that needs to be submitted at the beginning of the process. Repeatedly asking for more documents, or duplicate documents is frustrating to the seller as well as the buyer, and adds to the dis-satisfaction both feel towards the process.

One government organization called the Distressed Property Institute offers a 3 day course to Realtors to become "Certified Distressed Property Experts", which Greg has taken and is encouraging his team of agents to follow suit.  Greg says that one of the duties of a Realtor is to help the public, and if he can advise a property owner in trouble with mortgage payments to find a better solution than foreclosure, he feels obligated to help.  Short-sales have a less damaging effect on the seller's credit, and can help make it possible for him to buy another home sooner than when he is saddled with a foreclosure on his record.


If you are a distressed owner or looking to buy Myrtle Beach homes, Greg welcomes your call for advice. His website also has a full listing of short-sales in Myrtle Beach, as well as Myrtle Beach foreclosures. Contact him at 888-874-2121 (toll-free) or through the website.
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Other experts in the field are Virginia Horton-Lee who is certified with Buford GA short-sales, and Lee Cunningham who can offer advice with short sales in Greenville SC.

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