Mid Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service

Finally Gets It Right!

The Problem: Banks take up to six months to make a discission on an offer from a buyer for a "Short Sale" property. In their world why should they make a quick decission, the home is still being marketed by the listing Agents on the MLS and all web sites that get IDX feeds like Realtor.com bringing more offers.

A WIN-WIN for the Bank and they know this.

After tons of complants from Realtors® to NAR, FAR, ORRA and the MLS they finally have implimited a change in policy.

Mandatory: The mandatory provision requires participants to change the status of a listing from "Active" to "Pending" when a contract subject to the approval of the courts, lenders, or other third parties, is executed by buyer and seller.

Why is this important? If you have a home for sale in a neighbor with short sale's down the street it will affect you. As long as those homes are active on the MLS buyers will be focused on these short sales, also they will base other home sale prices in your neighborhood on the short sale homes price.

I know a good Realtor should be able to work around this and your right but throw in the fact that between 80 to 90 percent of buyers start online first and they are comparing prices and your 100 thousand more than the short sale don't you think your numbers will be less? They will!

With the new policy ruling the home will be pending with the verbage 'pending taking backup offers', added to the listing.

This should pull a number of listings off active waiting for approvals, for now.

Now the next problem will be "Right of First Refusal" listings, I see the Agents with these short sales changing to this type of listing. Again why not, it will keep the short sale home active focusing the buyers on them, a number of agents don't care about the other homes in the neighborhood just the tap of buyers this brings them.