Brookline Short Sales and FHA Offers

The current Quincy and Brookline markets are difficult right now for FHA buyers. If you plan on asking for more then 3% closing costs from the seller in a short sale transaction you are better off going with an REO.

The short pay lenders won’t approve anything above 3%. Quincy real estate agents are becoming aware of this as more and more Quincy short sales are being pursued.

While discussing this very issue at several marketing meetings; I’ve found that several Quincy and Brookline real estate agents reject 3%+ closing cost FHA offers on their short sale listings without thinking twice.

Don’t let your agent fool you, just because you are asking above listing doesn’t mean a thing in the end if you can’t come up with closing costs.

Here’s some advice if you want to get your FHA offer accepted on a short sale; write the offer, but don’t ask for more then 3% closing costs. Still ask the seller to cover escrow fees, recording fees, etc…, but only ask for 3% seller credits for anything else (i.e. down payment).

Another way to make sure your FHA offer gets accepted is by having your agent contact the listing agent to make sure the 3% is not a problem. If the listing agent says, ‘yes it is a problem’ make sure to provide a bank statement that shows you have enough funds to cover closing costs.

By following these steps and offering a competitive offer you will increase your chance of getting your offer accepted with an FHA loan (and might even get 3% closing funds in the process).

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