Termite Expenses with Short Sales

In a previous blog, I mentioned I finally received short sale approval for an offer that I submitted about 4 months ago. Part of the agreement to the short sale approval was that the lender was not going to pay for any termite repairs. This is very common, as lenders don't want to come out of pocket any additional money they don't have to.

Generally, termite repairs are minimal. . . $500-1,500 is common. This amount is palletable by buyers and generally not deal breakers. What happens when you get a termite report that calls for about $6,500 in repairs? Well, that's what I'm dealing with now in this short sale transaction.

I have successfully negotiated termite repair credits in the past (after the fact) and this is what I am attempting to do this time. Lenders won't cough up any money upfront, but there is a chance they will issue a credit at close of escrow. Recently I successfully negotiated $5,000 credit for another similar situation, except the transaction was a bank owned property, not a short sale.

We are requesting the lender credit buyer $5,000 at close of escrow for this transactionas well. Why $5,000 and not $6,500? $5,000 seems to be a breaking point for credits for many lenders. It will come across as more reasonable, then requesting the $6,500 amount. I will keep you posted on what the lender says. . .. Aren't short sales fun??