To the editor:

We have all heard and seen the headlines — Lee County leading in foreclosures!

The banking industry has been crying a river about how high their losses are. Let’s be real for a moment; they lent the money in the first place. But that point aside, they are still causing the deepening of their losses even now, when they have been given a bailout by Congress.

Currently our court system is bogged down with foreclosures causing other court matters to encounter delays. The banks could cut their losses today if they really wanted to. Thousands of people have their homes on the market as “short sales.” They are told by their mortgage holder to market the home and bring them an offer. Since the owner wants to entice an offer, they are often advertised as bargains. Once the seller accepts an offer they eagerly submit it to their bank holding the mortgage. This is where the waiting game begins. One would think that the bank, which by now knows that the owner can’t pay off the mortgage, would jump into action to respond. But no, instead there is silence, in many cases waiting weeks if not months to make a decision.

In the meantime, the seller and buyer get extremely frustrated and often the buyer moves on to a more able seller. The disappointed seller gets further behind in their payments and eventually abandons the property. Now this once maintained and cared for home becomes the neighborhood eyesore. Often the home is stripped of everything, either by the angry seller or vandals. Eventually the bank forecloses and turns the property over to a Realtor, auctioneer, etc. for sale. By now the home has lost even more value, therefore causing the bank a higher loss.

What most people don’t realize is that this actually hurts everyone, by further pushing down the real estate values. When homes fall into disrepair and have to be priced accordingly (many banks do not rehab these homes) it affects the entire neighborhood. Not to mention the frustrated buyer who, while waiting for the bank to decide, might be missing out on other homes that might have worked for them. Often they are now so exasperated with the entire buying process that many just give up on the dream of home ownership.

Perhaps, instead of looking at a bailout, everyone should be looking at ways to efficiently process and sell these short sales. Bankers, give the borrower a firm price that you will accept for the property. My opinion is that if banks utilized asset managers for short sales as they do for foreclosures, they could cut their losses. Make the requirement that the owner maintain the property to the best of their ability to keep it attractive for buyers. This would also help our community look better and help stabilize our real estate values. Let’s make headlines for being proactive in these tough times.

Suzanne Sherer, Realtor

Cape Coral