Can agents list their own short sale properties?
Hello. This is my first post here, and I wonder if the superstars can help me. There's a question in my Activerain SFR group that I think needs some authoritative answer. The question is, can an agent be the listing agent for a short sale property owned by the same agent? ( I think I mangled that - lol.)
I believe the agent can, as long as the same agent doesn't benefit (get paid commission) from the sale. I know I read this somewhere, but can't cite chapter and verse. Can you help? Thank you so much!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Jeff Payne on
-
O. Why would there be no commissions on the listing side?, the commission gets paid to the broker, at least in Florida it does. The broker would most likely have to refrain from paying the listing agent/short seller a share of the commission. The listing belongs to the broker.
O. Kheir said:My experience in doing my short own short sale is: get your broker's permission as there will be no listing side commissions (you can not benefit financially) - next, follow every guideline to the very small detail. Let's say that the comps are showing that my house is worth $150k on the market and you owe $225k - I started at the $225k and systematically lowered the price by $5k per week until we got the market price offer. I could show that we tried to get the best and highest price for the house and, of, course the BPO's must have made the same assessment of value because the house SOLD. Most importantly, get a structured system in place available from CDPEs around the country - or become a CDPE and list a lot of short sales.
-
Permalink Reply by O. Kheir on
-
Are you saying that the broker would keep the entire commission and ignore our agreed upon split? I chose what I believe is the "path of least resistance." I am glad that they waived the Deficiency Judgement and that was compensation enough for my services.
-
-
The listing belongs to the broker and the broker gets paid the commission and yes I am saying that in this case the broker should err on the side of caution and NOT pay the short seller/agent their split. It is up to the broker in this case. I do agree that hiring an experienced short sale agent is the better way to go though.
-
Permalink Reply by Ellen Levy on
-
No. the sale must be "arms length". You can not list it yourself. If you work as a member of a team, your teammate can not list it, either.
-
-
Ellen, please direct us to where you found this out? Arms length? Does that mean that a family member could not be the listing agent on a short sale?
-
Permalink Reply by Hugo W Meza on
-
Just list the property under your broker's name!
-
Permalink Reply by Steve Trang on
-
As stated already, yes. The question is why would you do it? We would laugh at a client that negotiated their own short sale because we would do it for them for free. Here you're doing the work, and you won't get paid. No upside, lots of downside. I'd refer it out to a fellow agent for future considerations (sports term when discussing trades).
-
Permalink Reply by Steve Early on
-
Jeff:
I've never read this anywhere, but can tell you we had a short sale this year (may have been Wells Fargo but I'm not sure). The buyer was a woman who was a Realtor. The buyer's agent was her husband ... also a Realtor. They disclosed their relationship from the very beginning of the transaction, and had done similar transactions in the past. We got down to the approval stage and they denied the short sale and said we had to replace the BUYER. Replacing the Realtor was not an option.
Jeff Payne said:
Ellen, please direct us to where you found this out? Arms length? Does that mean that a family member could not be the listing agent on a short sale?
-
-
The way I understand family disclosures according to the Realtor Code of Ethics, we must always disclose spouse, siblings, parents, and children. I would use that same understanding for Arm's length.
-
Permalink Reply by Jaime Woods on
-
All good points, but the one thing I don't see anyone referencing is the errors and omissions policy your brokerage carries could and likely WILL restrict an agent from listing their own short sale property...even more against it if it was an investment property. E&O policies vary widely so it's always a good idea to communicate with your manager or DB before taking on an unusual scenario.
-
-
That is correct. A family member can not.
I have attended huge numbers of seminars on Short Sales, have successfully completed about a dozen, and was thinking of short selling my home and an investment property. I have also been taking weekly Short Sale training from Harris Real Estate University (HREU) for over a year. I am also a CDPE Advanced member. I attended the meeting when NAR's point man on HAFA and HAMP discussed those programs in detail, and I listened to the replay on HREU.
I can not remember precisely where I heard this, but I have heard it multiple times.
No, you can not be the listing agent on the short sale of your home. No lender will allow it. None would believe you about value, or that you made good faith efforts to market the property for top dollar.
No, you can not list it with a team mate.
No, you can not list it with a relative.
Listing with someone else in your company is a possibility, but there had better not be any hint of collusion, referral fees, and the like.
Arms' length means very long arms.
-
Permalink Reply by Ashly Alexander on
-
NO. You may actually have an issue using your own broker. You will have an issue using your own broker if the loan is Fanny or Freddy backed.
© 2024 Created by Short Sale Superstars LLC.
Powered by
**********************************
like buttons