When considering a short sale lenders will request that you complete their specific short sale package. The reason for completing their short sale packet is to provide them with the “necessary” information so they can make a determination to accept or reject the short sale.

This is a lie. OK, maybe a half truth. The fact is the borrower is no longer able to pay on the loan and the lender will either settle with a short sale, foreclosure sale, or get the property back as an REO.

The real reason for the short sale package request is to gather more information on the borrower. Why? To see if they have other ways to pursue their losses if they get a deficiency judgment later. Now you know the truth. Still you must play the game and get them most of what they request.

Although each lender has their own request package we’ve found it to be more productive to submit to the lender a standard package requesting a short sale like the one found in our system. Not only does this save time, it gets the short sale package to the lender faster meaning your negotiations can start sooner rather than later.

Most lenders are OK with this if you provide a quality package. Some will insist you use their forms and when this happens transfer the information and resubmit the package.

The letter below is from Indy Mac bank and gives you a good idea of what every lender requests.

One of the items you can skip is the listing agreement if you provide a good explanation. Example: No listing agreement is provided because the property is grossly over financed and Realtors are unwilling to waste their time on property requiring a short sale in the current market.