Does the Short Sale Service require that an investor “have the deed” to a property prior to working on the Short Sale?
No. The Short Sale Service does not require that Key Holders submit a copy of the Deed taken from a Seller at the time the deal is signed as part of their Short Sale Service Order. For many years practice among real estate investors was to obtain title to the property at the beginning of the process. There are advantages to “taking the Deed” in the context of a Short Sale as is the best proof that the Seller is “cooperative and available” and has “exhausted all other options” before attempting the Short Sale. The reasoning was that if a Seller signs the Deed, then they have tried everything else and they are most likely on our side and cheering for us. However, recent legislation in a few states may add complexity (or in some cases, potential liability to a purchaser) from taking the Deed in a pre-foreclosure situation. We therefore do not require that a Key Holder provide evidence that they have the Deed. If you chose to do a Short Sale without getting the Deed from a Seller, Key Hold
