Short sales are a highly talked about and written about topic in the current market because a lot of homeowners owe more than their homes are worth. This is especially true in Loudoun County because of the tremendous run up in prices followed by a sharp decline in home values in the last 2 and a half years.
And what was once an almost impossible task now represents over 10% of the transactions in our area. Banks have become increasingly willing to avoid foreclosures as long as owners are willing to communicate with the banks and navigate their frustrating and seemingly backwards short sale process.
The three keys to a successful short sale are a realistic expectation in the buyers mind, knowledge of the process and requirements and a tenacious follow up with the banks. And truth be told most agents are not equipt to handle these sales or willing to do what is necessary. Therefore you must choose your agent wisely and experience is absolute mandatory.
But as a homeowner you must not give up and you must not just let the banks foreclose. That is absolutely the worst thing you could possibly do.





Tony,
Great blog. I enjoy the video postings and i'm hopeful that people will get the value and reach out to you. I've embedded a couple of your videos on my blog (trivial blab about loudoun). I appreciate the info that you share...
Posted by: ClickAshburn | March 27, 2009 at 08:21 AM
Hey ClickAshburn, Thanks for reading. I will add you to my blogroll. FYI, if you put a link to your blog in comments, it will go to a generic blog, not yours. Plus, some people don't like when you do that.
Posted by: Tony Arko | March 27, 2009 at 08:50 AM
With short sale education, do you teach or do you know of who are the better people to learn the entire process from? I would really like to learn how to invest in short sales(or partner with someone). Also I would like to show others how to help their situation through short sales(like the info you put in your video)or better yet keep their house.
Thanks Shawn at www.inexpensiveinvestinginflorida.com
Posted by: Shawn | April 07, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Tony, you're right on the money. Your three keys to a successful short sale, especially the tenacious follow up with the banks is so true. We completed our short sale last year and are glad we did!
Posted by: Andy | October 17, 2009 at 08:02 PM