What is a Las Vegas Short Sale?

It certainly does not mean it’s a short transaction! A Short sale in Las Vegas is when a homeowner owes more on the Mortgage then the home is worth in today’s current market and needs to sell. Generally this process takes much longer then a normal sale and does require patience and Experience.

Obviously, with the recent price declines in Las Vegas hovering around a 20% decline in comparison to the same month a year ago, the use of low to no down payment loans and many new Las Vegas homes that were priced too high to begin with, there are obviously a lot of Las Vegas home sellers that now owe more then their home is worth.

Before the slow down, these were not common for Las Vegas real estate agents to do. I think the last one we did before the real estate boom was in 2002 and the loss was not nearly as significant as the ones we are seeing today. Back in 2002, the loss mitigator also did not have stacks and stacks of files in front of them to approve. Today, it’s not uncommon to hear of a loss mitigator working on over a couple of hundred applications and it’s probably going to get worse. Hopefully Banks are getting prepared for what is going to be taking shape sooner then later.

Short Sales Are Much more Difficult then

just a Regular Las Vegas Home Sale

Short sales are certainly much more complicated then a normal sale due to the fact we are also dealing with another party — the bank that holds the mortgage and has to approve the sale. They are going to be the ones taking the loss and have to approve the final sale and hardship. (Sales price)

Without getting technical, it is an area of expertise and not for any Las Vegas real estate agent. You have to have systems in place, be highly detailed, prepare to be on the phone a lot and know how to get the decisions made in a timely manner.

Las Vegas Short Sales Success Rates

Out of the 21,130 Properties available for sale on the Las Vegas MLS today (Condos, Single Family Homes and Town Homes in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas):

  • 5,294 of them are classified as Short Sales (25% of the total inventory) available for sale.

There are currently 1,738 properties classified as Short sales that are currently Pending/Contingent (In contract) out of a total of 6,281 properties currently in escrow in Las Vegas. (In escrow = Pending/Contingent.)

  • That equates to 28% of all the deals currently being worked on.

Now, here is the staggering number that shows just how many Las Vegas short sales actually close escrow.

  • For April of 2008, 145 properties classified as Short Sales closed escrow (actually sold) in April.
  • Our Las Vegas Bank Owned Properties Report on 4/23/08 showed 5,246 Las Vegas short sales available for sale.

As you can tell by the ratio of how many Las Vegas Short Sales actually have a successful close of escrow compared to how many are available and how many are in escrow, it’s not a guaranteed process.

If you would like more information about selling a Las Vegas Home that fits the short sale criteria, please contact me using the information below. There is no one size fits all solution - Different banks have different criteria and Las Vegas short sales have to be evaluated on a case by case scenario.

Remember – No Two Las Vegas Home Short Sellers are in the same financial situation. Different situations, different approvals. What might apply to one Las Vegas home seller, may not apply to you. Therefore, it’s really important to use a Las Vegas Short Sales Agent that understands what the actual process is in helping you move forward in life.

Contact me with the information below for a completely confidential consultation to see if a Las Vegas Short Sale is right for you.

Paul Francis, CRS
Las Vegas Short Sales
702.592.3058