As one of the top REALTORS working in Short Hills NJ, clients and residents depend on me to stay abreast of the latest Real Estate news and information. One of the things I’ve been mentioning lately is the updated terms and fields listed in the Garden State Multiple Listing Service (GSMLS).
These updates are in response to market changes and give real estate agents and sellers more options to describe the status of a property. They help sellers communicate more specific information to a potential buyer and help buyers understand what’s happening as they contemplate if this is a house they want to tour in person.
Here are two newer Real Estate terms you should know when buying or selling real estate in and around Short Hills, New Jersey:
1. Lender Approval Required. GSMLS states this new term indicates whether or not Lender Approval is required for the contractual Commission Split or Sales Price. The listing real estate agent is required to have a notation in this field; either Yes, No, or Undetermined.
This new term in GSMLS indicates the proliferation of Short Sales in the marketplace today compared to 18 months ago when it was an anomaly.
A Short Sale is a sale where the homeowner owes more on the home than he/she can net selling the home in today’s market. People often suspect that because Short Hills, Summit, Millburn, Chatham and surrounding towns are affluent areas, that short sales sales are uncommon, but this is no longer the case. To complete a home sale, the homeowner must obtain approval from the bank(s), unless the seller has enough money to bring to the closing table that covers the gap between the sale price and the mortgage owed. It’s important for the buyer to know this before submitting a contract because Short Sales have a strong chance of taking longer than a regular sale. Also, the sales price might not be approved by the bank(s) and many of these types of properties are sold “as is”. This gives the buyer a chance from the outset to determine if this is a house to consider with these conditions.
2. (US) Under Contract, Continue to Show. This new status broadens the option to sellers when their home goes Under Contract.
As stated by GSMLS: a property is considered to be Under Contract (UC) when Attorney Review has been completed per the attorneys involved (if any) after a mutually agreeable three day attorney review has passed. To clarify the issue of whether or not agents may continue to show the property, the new US status has been added, which indicates that the property may be shown even though under contract. Another significant difference between UC and US is that designating a property as UC means that it will no longer be included on third party sites, such as Realtor.com, GSMLS.com, and an IDX listing which may appear on another Brokers’ website. Listing a property as US will assure that the property continues to be included on those third party sites.
Homeowners may want to continue to show their home when, for example, there is a home sale contingency, where the buyers’ ability to purchase the house is dependent on their house selling to someone else. Or when the sellers want to show a commitment to the buyers but continue to take back up offers. It’s important that whether you are searching for homes for sale in Short Hills or homes for sale in Millburn or any other town covered by GSMLS, your REALTOR explains what it means to you and your particular situation.
REALTORS are still getting adjusted to this new term. The key for sellers is that this may allow a home to continue to be shown but real estate agents are not yet accustomed to searching for this US option in addition to just searching all the Active homes for sale. This means your house may have the option to continue to show but no one may know about it.
As one of the Managing Partners/Owners of Towne Realty Group I have advised my team members to go over these options, as needed, with their clients. We always stay on top of the market to insure our clients are informed. Being a key listing Broker-Salesperson in Short Hills, I always talk to my clients now about the pros and cons of UC and US, and what’s their best position based upon their particular circumstances.
