The Perfect Sacramento Short Sale Buyer

Is there such a thing as the perfect Sacramento short sale buyer? At the risk of sounding like I was raised where I was: you betcha! A seller asked yesterday — how do I know which offer to pick? She asked if she should read every offer she receives or if she should leave it up to me, her Sacramento short sale agent. First, let me say that decision always lies directly with the seller — never with the agent — but I do offer suggestions, and I do guide my sellers to help them to make the right decision. And yes, making the right decision involves reading every offer.

The right decision is choosing the buyer who will perform. What does it mean to perform? It means the buyer who will pay what the bank wants and will close escrow. That premise may sound on the surface overly simplified but those two things are the qualifications of the perfect Sacramento short sale buyer. Of course, there are other things that come into play but performance and adaptability are the most important.

I’ll tell you what you don’t do as a Sacramento short sale buyer. You don’t let your buyer’s agent become combative with the the seller. Because that kind of behavior is just stupid and it backfires. If your agent is ticked off about something, your agent should keep those feelings to himself. Nobody needs to hear it. Earth to buyer’s agent, hello . . . Sacramento is in the middle of a super hot seller’s market right now. You also don’t disclose to the seller that your buyers trespassed, walked around the property without permission and peeked in the windows of an owner-occupied property.

I just closed a short sale in a gated community in the Pocket. This home was situated on 2 parcels along the river. We had received several offers when it came on the market, but the offer the sellers selected was from the buyer who agreed in advance to step up to the plate, if it was required. This particular buyer was represented by an agent who had closed other short sales. Because of that experience, the agent prepared the buyer for the unexpected. Sure enough, the unexpected happened. As anticipated, the buyer performed.

A seller might think she is choosing the buyer who loves her home as much as she did when she first laid eyes on it, and that could very well be true. It’s nice if a seller likes the buyer and knows the buyer appreciates and values the same things in her home. But as her Sacramento short sale agent, who must put the seller’s interests first and foremost, I’m looking for the buyer who will close.