Short Sale Insights - Another Reason to Rejoice!

It’s that time of year when families gather together for a good old fashioned feast, hours of football games and parades plus plenty of healthy debate. Whether you adore all your in-laws or can barely tolerate the thought of listening to stale jokes for one more year, chances are the holidays will still make any short sale investor rejoice due to timing. Yes – timing.  It’s a not exactly a trade secret but the holidays present the perfect opportunity for short sale investors. First, few buyers are making active offers during the holidays…and those numbers drop to near zero on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

However, research shows those same days are actually the best time to make an offer on a home. It seems most sellers are in a good mood and more generous, so willing to accept a lower than anticipated offer. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that home prices tend to drop to a twelve month low each December and sellers are very serious about selling – or at least getting a good offer- before the end of the year. People have a mindset that wants closure by the end of the year, so having a signed contract on hand provides the peace of mind they need and want to get on with the rest of their life.

Are you too shy or busy to drum up business on an actual holiday?  Try the first Tuesday of the beginning of the month. Not only has the seller just sent (or missed) yet another mortgage payment, but they didn’t receive an offer from anyone that happened to view the home over the prior weekend. Likewise, if you miss house-hunting during December, wait until early January to present really lowball offers; banks, brokers and sellers alike know few people want to trudge through rain, sleet and snow while looking at homes, plus the first of the credit card balances are beginning to come due after the big holiday spending spree. Think of it as one more way to motivate sellers and bankers to accept an offer without the need to beg, borrow or plead. Instead, point out the obvious to them – the bills are piling up, fewer homes tend to sell and it could be a long, cold and hard winter if they opt to wait it out rather than accept your bid.

Finally, one last word of advice when presenting a holiday offer for a short sale home; use a bid that ends in a zero such as $75,000 rather than a precise number such as $75,497.  Reliable research shows people perceive precise numbers as lower, and amounts ending in 000’s as higher. The reality may be quite the opposite, but like the old adage – perception is everything.