Who does the work in a short sale?

I have been reading this forum for a while and I am a short sale buyer.  So far I haven't heard ANYTHING in rgds to our short sale. Who does the work for me, my lawyer, my agent or the seller's agent? Who is more involved with this process and who should I hold responsible for keeping us updated??

Thx. 

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Miner on August 5, 2012 at 5:20am

your agent should be updating you weekly. This is what defined a good short sale agent from an agent that is just trying to make a sale. Short sale agents all manage their files differently, but communication should be at the forefront of practices. Many agents do not negotiate their own files and therefore they don't know what is going on either. I'm an advocate for agent that manage their own files.

Permalink Reply by Johanna Devon on August 5, 2012 at 5:23am

AMEN to managing your own files! 

Permalink Reply by Esperanza Agbayani on August 5, 2012 at 7:47am

The listing agent gets the third party authorization from his client, the seller/owner of the house. When he lists the property, he requests the seller to authorize him to negotiate with the seller's lender in his behalf. 

Sometimes, the listing agent will hire another THIRD PARTY as a negotiator, thus another authorization is issued for the lender to communicate. 

As the buyer, your agent has to communicate regularly with the listing agent regarding status of your offer. If the LISTING agent is diligent enough, he will send a weekly or bi-weekly status report to your agent to keep you engaged in the transaction. 

Permalink Reply by Paddy Deighan, Esq on August 5, 2012 at 9:36am

there is no "rule" about who should handle the short sale.   I have strong feelings about it since I have handled hundreds of short sales....since you are the buyer, you should make certain that the person negotiating the short sale is on your side of the settlement table...agent, lawyer, 3rd party that you choose.  Today, many sellers lose interest in the process and the only way that you will know is if the person is on your side of the negotiating table...

Permalink Reply by Tom Gallegos on August 5, 2012 at 9:48am

Sorry you are not being communicated with.... your agent is responsible for following up with the process with the seller's agent. So many Sort Sale agents out there do not know what they are doing, put the short sale process on the back burner while doing easier transactions and simply do not care.

When selecting an agent to represent you as a buyer you should ask if they list short sales and know the process. Secondly your agent should have interviewed the the seller's agent (prior to writing an offer)as to the status of the short sale, how many they have completed successfully, how many liens are on the property, what type of loan is being sold short (va, fha, Fannie Mae... etc) as they are all a little different.

I would insist on a weekly update... good luck

Permalink Reply by Jeffrey Burnham on August 5, 2012 at 10:03am

The "magic" answer when talking to lenders is that they'll update you in "10 days."

 

You should EXPECT YOUR agent to touch base with you at least every 10 days...or as progress is made or updates become available. Even the best agents are subject to the banks work load and simply moving thru the system. Be prepared, even GOOD short sale agents must work with lenders at the lenders pace. Often files are moved, sold, lost, etc. Nevertheless, YOUR agent should always be your source of information and your point of contact as well as your guide and educator on short sales.

 

Permalink Reply by James Roath on August 5, 2012 at 2:06pm

I rpocess short sales for a Law Firm here in South Florida. I can't tell you how everyone else does it, but I send weekly updates via email every Monday. I normally send this update to the listing agent, a CC to my attorney and the selling agent if they request it . If I have not received a request from the selling agent, then the listing agent will update them.  Depending on where we are in the process, the update may only be 1 sentence, but I find that it helps to keep peoples expectations real. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome in getting these transactions to close is unreal expectations, brought about by either an inexperienced selling agent or a buyer that has no idea of the timeline invloved.

Permalink Reply by Jimmy Williams on August 6, 2012 at 10:22am

As a listing agent I send updates out on Tuesdays each week to the buyers agents.  Even if there is nothing new to report.

Permalink Reply by Lang Lequang on August 6, 2012 at 8:51pm

Both agents are doing the work, listing agent updates the buyer agent on the seller & lender status while buyer agent updates the listing agent on the loan status, they in turn update their seller & their buyer whoever they signed the contract with. 

The seller agent submit docs and whatever the lender request and then usually contact the lender once a week until get approval. Once approved, the buyer agent will start working on loan updates and appraisal, inspection, etc.. The listing agent works with escrow and title also.  All people involved work until the loan is funded. No funding no commission!

I usually have a timeline and status update online using Google and share with everyone involved in the transaction and the only one doing the update is the listing & buyer agent.  So once there is an update, everyone is being alert.

Usually it takes more than 60 days for a short sale so to keep everyone in the loop and patient, do the update 2 times a week. Hope this helps, and you can always ask the agent that represents you.

Permalink Reply by Kimberley Kelly on August 7, 2012 at 2:54am

Your Agent works for YOU.  That being said, with a Short Sale, the Listing Agent and their level of expertise gets it CLOSED.  I update my Buyers' Agents 1x/wk minimum and it is up to them to pass along the update to their Buyer. 

Permalink Reply by kate on August 7, 2012 at 12:09pm

Thank you for all your feedback.

Apparently, in our case the seller's agent is not interested in the transaction or does not have any experience with a short sale. 

She told my agent we should contact the seller's attorney to get updates or any other info regarding the status of the short sale...The problem is that we love the house and don't want to lose it, otherwise we would have walked out of the contract.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Payne on August 8, 2012 at 1:54am

Too late now but your agent should have done some due diligence by interviewing the listing agent BEFORE you ever looked at the house.  Too many red flags means that you pass on that house and move on to one that has a chance at getting approved.  Not all homes and not all sellers are real candidates for a short sale and that depends on many things, the listing agent being an important part of it. 

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