Listing Agents Should Know!!

If You Don’t Know How to Cook, Get OUT of the Kitchen!  You see, right now, there are too many cooks in the kitchen who don’t even know how to boil water!  Hire a chef or go to culinary school, I say!

Annoyed?  That’s an UNDERSTATEMENT!  Isn’t there something in the Code of Ethics regarding misrepresentation?  Don’t agents worry about legal issues when they represent themselves as something they’re not and fail miserably for their clients?  I’ve got a short sale seller’s DREAM buyer–800+ credit score, staying power, full-priced Offer who fell in  love with the property!   Oh, did I say STAYING power?  Repeated requests for a signed Contract have led me to this post. My buyer is tired of waiting on her appetizer (aka signed Contract) so, she has decided to skip the short sale market and purchase a resale! 

This post could be the shortest post ever written and simply state, If you don’t know what you’re doing, refer your short sale listing(s) out to someone who does!  But, as you all know, I just can’t write a short post!  

Seriously, I have had numerous issues with this, just as other agents in my area have.  The problem is that short sale SELLERS are suffering because of the inadequacies of agents who don’t know what they’re doing with regards to the short sale process.  Agents and buyers all around will not touch a short sale property with a 10-foot pole because of the horror stories that they’ve either experienced themselves or heard about from others in the area and across the country.

The most common mistake that listing agents make who don’t routinely work with short sales?  They present multiple Offers to the bank with NO signed, ratified Contract.  The inexperienced short sale agents, treat short sales as though they were foreclosures.  With regards to short sales, the owner of record is the SELLER–NOT the bank.  A short sale is NOT a foreclosure!  A short sale is approved by the bank but, the homeowners of record see the process all the way through to their attendance at Closing, as the SELLERS.  

If someone from the bank tells you to submit multiple Offers to them, perhaps you should be speaking with someone who is NOT in the foreclosure department!  A short sale is NOT a foreclosure!

I’d prefer not to moan and groan without offering any proposed resolutions for the problem, so here are a few recommendations to help remedy this problem:

1.  If you don’t have a clue how to handle a short sale, double-team with an agent who DOES–1/2 of something is better than 100% of nothing and if you continue to submit your multiple Offers to the bank, with no seller documentation and no knowledge as to how to follow through with this process, you’re going to send your sellers into foreclosure; thus, receive 100% of nothing.

2.  If you don’t have a clue how to handle a short sale, nor does anyone in your office, refer the listing out to someone who does.  Ask them if they are willing to teach you along the way so that you can later handle your own short sales.  I, for one, am more interested in helping the homeowners avoid foreclosure and would be more than willing to help an agent who has not done short sales–but, you HAVE TO ASK!  If the agent is not willing to help you, then they don’t have the sellers best interest at heart so, move on to an agent who will help you.

3.  There are attorneys in every area who specialize in short sales–find one who does and use him/her as a reference for your short sales.  

4.  If you’ve already listed short sale property and don’t have a clue what to do AND are submitting multiple Offers to the bank, don’t ACT like you know what you’re doing–ASK for help!  I recently had a buyer for a short sale property and the listing agent told me that he had already informed his seller that he had NO clue what he was doing.  I offered assistance and together, we’re working with the bank–between two Brokers-in-Charge–to get the job done and so far, so good!  I’m thrilled that he was honest and upfront and so is his seller.  It’s made for a very amicable transaction and I commend him on his honesty.  He’s learned an enormous amount about short sales during this time and continues to gain knowledge every day about short sales. 

5.  If you’re not a member of Short Sale Superstars, JOIN!  Take the classes and glean infinite information from agents all across the country who contribute to this site on a daily basis.  Not only will you find agents who have truly been in the trenches with short sales for years and are more than willing to share their knowledge with you but, you’ll find agents just like yourself, who ask for help and receive multiple solutions from other members who have experienced similar issues during short sale transactions.

6.  If you’re a BUYER’S AGENT and you have a client who is interested in a short sale property, contact the listing agent and discuss their experience with them.  If your MLS allows your Broker-in-Charge to research that agent’s sales, your BIC can determine if, indeed, the agent has done any short sales–how many, how long on the market, etc.  Do your research and offer assistance if you know how to work with short sales.  Agents who care about the outcome for their clients (and they ALL should!), will be receptive to your offer.

 

In summary, if you find yourself in the throws of a short sale and are too proud to let the seller know that you don’t know what you’re doing, please, please, please, ask someone who DOES know what they’re doing for help.  

Finally, DO NOT present multiple Offers to the bank–present ALL offers to the Sellers but, remember, the Seller is NOT the bank!  Present the signed, ratified Contract to the bank with the supporting documentation that is required by that particular bank or those particular banks if there is more than one lien holder and your state’s required Short Sale Addendum.

So, if you don’t know how to boil water, hire a chef or go to culinary school!