Ronald S. Webster

A. Short Sales can be Successful! I am frequently contacted by buyers, sellers and agents who get frustrated halfway through the short sale process. Negative comments start to emerge that only one out of five short sales are successful. The truth is short sales require the determination of an olympic athlete. With hard work and perseverance, banks will approve the vast majority of short sales offers that are submitted with a reasonable contract price.

One of the most difficult questions I am often asked is whether an individual should default on their loan. Strategic default is the decision by a borrower to cease making mortgage payments despite having financial ability to do so. This phenomena can be used as an affirmative negotiating tool to unload properties with no equity or for individuals seeking to modify a loan or qualify for a short sale. According to recent studies Experian (of the National Credit Bureau) a good portion of all defaulted loans today are strategic defaults made by choice rather than out of necessity.

Multiple offers can create multiple minefields. One of the most common issues surrounding short sales many realtors have been encountering recently is how to deal with multiple offers. If the Seller has already accepted an offer, any subsequent offer must clearly be disclosed as a back up offer.

Many buyers are under the mistaken belief that all offers must be presented to the bank. Particularly when those subsequent offers are for a higher purchase price.

One of the most common questions I receive from sellers who are upside down on their mortgage(s) is what a deficiency judgment is and whether or not it may apply to them if they sell at a short sale, offer a deed in lieu of foreclosure or are foreclosed upon. The answer is it can occur in any of these situations.

Land contracts, like New Coke, never caught on in Florida for a number of justifiable reasons. Quite often I am asked if the buyer can enter into a land contract or in some states referred to as an Agreement for Deed.

Land contracts are not generally utilized in Florida for four reasons.

1. The State of Florida views a land contract as a transfer of interest and therefore collects from the seller a documentary transfer tax on the property as if the property is sold, despite the fact the seller does not convey a deed.