How Short Sales Affected The Tax Credit Extension Debate...

Apparently, the huge number of short sales was a key factor in why Congress ultimately decided to extend the $8,000.00 tax credit deadline until September 30. In a letter to Congressional leaders on June 29, the National Association of Realtors said as many as 75,000 buyers and sellers were still awaiting bank approval of short sales or were coping with delays caused by third parties with responsibility for closing the transaction. Major news outlets such as CNN speculated that the complication of closing short sales was a primary reason so many people faced losing the tax credit benefit.

WPS knows this reality only too well...We track short sale statistics in the Greater Seattle and Puget Sound area, and we see than an alarming number of short sale transactions get stuck in the pending status and never get to a closing. This will continue to be a problem unless and until real estate agents get better education on how to handle short sales or hire professional third party short sale negotiators.

Maybe the Congressional tax credit extension debate will shine some light on this important issue.