I'm on the buyer side of a short sale transaction going nowhere....

As an agent that has never done a short sale I am woefully unaware of how this process should go. Until today.

 

My very interested and patient buyer submitted an offer many weeks ago. The listing agent said, "I have submitted to the bank and I will let you know when I hear something." Well, I am afraid she doesn't know how to process a short sale. I fear she is treating it like a foreclosure.

 

We don't have an executed contract!

 

I know much of this is my fault as I didn't know the procedures either until I took a training class today. My problem now is how to approach this listing agent and get this straightened out and hopefully moving forward for everyone.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

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Harry I agree I can do with more education. I don't see a lot of short sales in my business and bumped into this one. Aside from my being uneducated, the listing agent is as well. While the KW Short Sale class is, as Jeff stated, a great first step I am always looking to improve my knowledge. So now I know more than I did yesterday and will work to do the best I can do for this client today. And I will do better next time....

 

I think that a short sale buyers agent class would be great, is there anything like that out there?  Buyers agents, no offense to buyers agents on here, are typically the biggest challenge we have here in my area. Impatient, not understanding the process are pretty big issues and in my opinion, when a buyer walks, it can and usually is the result of the buyers agent not educating the buyer properly or not setting realistic expectation AS WELL AS the buyers agent getting anxious about getting paid.

Harry you make great points however I agree with what Jeff is saying as well. I have yet to see a certification course go over the details you learn from just "DOING" and learning. Obviously we don't want people jumping in blidnly and getting hurt in the transaction however there is an amazing thing when you "BEGIN" and commit yourself to watching, listening and learning all that takes place once the wheels are in motion.

As I had mentioned I do commend Robin for even taking the time to join the community and seek out the answers to the problem. I bet there are hunderds of agents who would have not even done that.

 

Robin good luck and keep us updated.

Jeff, spot on. I think you are correct and there is an opportunity for a class such as that one. It would help a lot not only the buyers agent but also buyers who are misinformed and not wanting to put offers in on ss because of what they perceive rather than KNOW!
I think a class of some sort for buyer's agents would be extremely helpful. Some of the panel at the class yesterday got a bit defensive saying buyer's agents don't educate their clients. Obviously we need education too then...The class yesterday gave me some insight as to what the listing agent should be doing and I realized the one in this transaction wasn't doing any of them. I have contacted her...let's see if she responds.

Thanks Eric, I think that you and I are alot alike :)  I come from the school of hard knocks when it comes to short sales.  I think that any education is a GREAT and all of the education that you can get it is even better.  The heartburn for me comes from any designation that refers to expert, there really are very few experts in short sales due to the ever changing guidelines and rules.  Even if I had a CDPE designation, I would not advertise it because I am not an expert by any means. Not to say that others who have it are not experts and not to pick on CDPE but those types of designations are very misleading to the public IF they even understand what all of those letters mean.

How about "certified" "qualified" "specialist" or something like that OR how about requiring an "expert" to disclose in their marketing how many short sales they have actually closed?

Sorry for the long post, my brain is in overdrive right now. 

Eric Mieles said:

Harry you make great points however I agree with what Jeff is saying as well. I have yet to see a certification course go over the details you learn from just "DOING" and learning. Obviously we don't want people jumping in blidnly and getting hurt in the transaction however there is an amazing thing when you "BEGIN" and commit yourself to watching, listening and learning all that takes place once the wheels are in motion.

As I had mentioned I do commend Robin for even taking the time to join the community and seek out the answers to the problem. I bet there are hunderds of agents who would have not even done that.

 

Robin good luck and keep us updated.

Yes sir! I agree. I'm 100% all for education. I just recently received my Five Star designation however I was more concerned with the networking, learning and absorbing all that I can. I love the short sale niche and will continue to read and study all that I can. However, there has been nothing that can compare to me just plainly working a file. I take every notation, listen very close to what there saying, ask questions and get better with each file.

I have no pride that I have to defend because this is a very serious and complex transaction and as you said it's changing quickly.

Little note for Robin. I have use this site to create a note sheet on all the specific lenders and the many tips I get from here. This allows me to refer to it anytime when I get a file and see if theres little things I can do to get the file approved and done.

Have a great day everyone.

 

Robin,

just one other little thing, rather than asking a listing agent if they have done a short sale, check their past sales, as well as expired and cancelled listings. You'll get a more accurate picture of how likely their short sale is to close. If your mls lists who the buyer's agent was, call a few and ask how it was to work with this listing agent. Some will give you regular updates, others will leave you in the dark with an anxious buyer wondering what you got them into.

 

As I learned in interviewing past behavior is the best indicator of future performance.

Jim, that is great advice.  We are in a small market so we can easily tell who knows what they are doing.  You have to do your homework to protect your buyer.

I always wondered how an agent would handle "How many short sales have you close?"  when they have not closed any or only a few.  I know an agent who portrays himself as an expert and even a short sale department head at a brokerage and he has closed one short sale in his career.  He also puts "this is a CDPE short sale" in realtor remarks of MLS.  Since he does not do much business I have not had the pleasure of interviewing him for one of my buyers.

Fact of the matter is, agents will always stretch the truth!  Verify, verify, verify


Robin, I think that the agents on the panel are probably frustrated when a buyers agent can not explain the process to a buyer and that is because most buyers agents dont have the need to know the process from a listing side.  I will talk to KWU to see if we can start a short sale buyer course.

Keep us informed please :)
Robin McCoy said:

I think a class of some sort for buyer's agents would be extremely helpful. Some of the panel at the class yesterday got a bit defensive saying buyer's agents don't educate their clients. Obviously we need education too then...The class yesterday gave me some insight as to what the listing agent should be doing and I realized the one in this transaction wasn't doing any of them. I have contacted her...let's see if she responds.

Robin,

some inspriration. I was able to save two short sales for different buyer clients of mine this week, because I understood some items about the short sale process that the seller's short sale negotiator did not. I was able to work with them, explain some tricks of the trade, and share some contacts in order to get things moving.

 

You asked how to get things moving, I'd start with telling the agent that you require a copy of the executed contract. If that is not forthcomming you should have the buyers' attorney write a letter to the sellers, and the listing broker (not the same as the listing agent, hopefully) demanding the same or a cancelation and return of earnest money.

 

I would then ask the following:

How many loans are there?

then for each loan you need to ask:

1. Who is the seller's "lender" (they will most likely give you the servicer when you ask this)

2. Who is the investor that owns the loan?

(if they don't know they can go to MERS , Freddie Mac Loan Look-up , Fannie Mae Loan Look-up and will likely find it, if that still doesn't work, they can usually get it by asking the servicer, it that doesn't work research how to send in a Qualified Written Request)

3. Is this an FHA or VA loan

4. Is there Mortgage Insurance, and if so who is the insurer?

5. When was the lis pendens filed (you can look this up yourself at the county clerk's office)

 

If you come back with this information, we can likely get you moving in the right direction.

As a Short Sale Listing Agent here in the Palm Springs, CA area..I can tell you I LOVE a Buyer's Agent that actually asks me intelligent questions.  Bryan is right..the Buyer's Agent MUST understand the Short Sale process.  Otherwise the Buyer's Agent cannot know if a Short Sale is even prudent for that particular Buyer.  Not all buyers qualify for Short Sales.  Be VERY picky with your Buyers before you take them to Short Sale properties.  Then get some good answers from the List Agent and visit the List Agent's website.  Find out how many they have worked and closed and check their references.

 

The Listing Agent is EVERYTHING in a Short Sale!

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