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!

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There's no law, so it's a series of corporate policies, without knowing which servicer and investor, all I can say is generally, you're right.
Of course they can. They just can't get a commission. They own the property and can do whatever they want.
Thank you, gentlemen.  I thought so, I just wanted to make sure that I'm not giving out false info.
you can do it yourself, but why?.  However, if you do there will be no commission paid.  You may consider asking another Agent to be designated as your "agent". (you can still do all the work)  Commissions will be paid to that Agent.  Although you may not receive any of that money, the Agent may allow a siginificant portion to cover HOA DUES or go toward any cash contribution your lender might require. 
Can you give it to another agent and collect a referral fee from their commission?
Most banks don't want you associated with your own short...you are an agent and also the banks borrower, my suggestion is hand this to a trusted friend or BIC to see you through.
In addition to not being able to get paid, some servicers may require you to sign an arm's length affidavit and they may not like the fact that you are selling your own house. They could prevent you from selling your own house in a short sale ... not because there are any laws against it, but if you get a jerk for a negotiator, they can just decide to refuse to do the short sale. You might be able to go over their head and eventually "win", but in my view it's not worth it. Get another agent involved.

Yes, you can list and handle your own short sale but as everyone has pointed out you will not receive a commission. I also recommend referring the deal to another agent but you should NOT expect to receive a referral fee. Most banks will require the arms length document mentioned in another post as well as a document from the seller (you) that verifies the seller will not receive any monies from this transaction (might be the same document as the arms length, might be a separate one because the arms length is often directed more to the buyer).

While you can't accept a referral fee from the agent who will process your short sale, you will undoubtedly receive their undying appreciation and possibly a referral in the future. :-)  A win/win. :-):-)

Good luck!

The agent is not who is getting paid the commission, the broker is.  The problem would come in if the broker were to pay the agent a commission.

I would do as the others have said and refer it out, let an expert handle it.

My recommendation is to use another Realtor - NO referral fee - but maybe you could take the leads for the property to make it a win win??

 

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.
I would never list my own short sale. All work and no compensation plus possible complications with your bank. I sure like the idea of getting any unrepresented buyer leads in return for letting someone you trust list it. If your listing agent balks at giving you the buyer leads you could give them a 10 - 25% referral for every lead that closes - again a win/win. I suppose it depends on how much they stand to earn on your listing.

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