Two agents, how to choose?
Good afternoon,
I have two agents that are interested in guiding me through the short sale process.
The 1st has CDPE designation and claims to have closed an average of 30 short sales per year for the past two years. This agent was referred to me by a friend, but the agent was not able to close a short sale for the friend. I guess that could be indicative of an issue with the bank or offer(s) as much as anything else. The agent did help them with a DIL.
The 2nd agent is less experienced, but claims that her 3rd party negotiators close 95% of the short sales she brings to them. I'm not sure if her 3rd party has worked with my bank (NFCU).
The 1st agent works with a distressed property startup that consists of a number of realtors that came over from a big name realty company. The 2nd is with Keller Williams (I hope I can say that).
I'm leaning towards the first based on her experience, but a 3rd party that is experienced in negotiating with my lender interests me.
Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Jeff Payne on
-
Ask them both to PROVE their numbers. I am not a fan of 3rd party negotiators but that does not mean that they don't do a great job. proof is in the numbers
-
Permalink Reply by Samson_is_Furry on
-
Great idea. Thanks Jeff!
-
-
No Problem. Choose the one that you feel most comfortable with and the one that can show you and not just tell you their track record. I am always leary of someone who closes 95% or more of their short sales, I know they are out there but I feel that they just haven't done enough of them yet because 95 out of 100 is superb. If they can prove that, GO FOR IT.
-
Permalink Reply by Smitty on
-
Numbers are good, but who do you feel most comfortable with? Keller Williams has a great reputation and I wouldn't discount them just because they use a 3rd party negotiator. I actually LIKE 3rd party negotiators or at least the ones I've worked with because THEY ONLY negotiate. They don't list, help buyers buy or sellers sell, they strictly negotiate 24/7. They aren't out showing properties.
On the same token I wouldn't necessarily discount the guy with experience because he didn't close your friends house. There could be a NUMBER of reasons for that. He may have a LOAD of approvals, but not closings. He may know his job, but maybe the buyers couldn't get financing, or the loan had MI all reasons that a property may not close.
*ON A SIDE NOTE* in my experience if your lender is a credit union, they are extremely difficult to work with - again that's only in my experience. Many credit unions hold their notes in house (portfolio loan) so there is no investor backing the loan like on the secondary market which most loans come from.
-
-
I've heard that credit unions can be difficult; especially Navy Federal. My loan is owned by Fannie Mae. I hope that is a good thing. Thanks for your reply, Smitty!
-
Permalink Reply by Robert Todd Schroth on -
Watch the 3rd party stuff, they generally will charge large fees for work that the realtor should be doing themselves. And with recent changes to the MARS ruling the third party has to either a realtor or attorney. so watch yourself. I am CDPE and love the stuff they give us with the updates etc. I would lean toward the CDPE. no offense to KW but just cause the agent is there does not mean they have any clue what they are doing on short sales.. I am from REMAX and there are some agent in my office that I would not want handling my short sale and we have world class agents.
-
Permalink Reply by Tasha Griffin on
-
I would not choose and agent based on the companies name. There are MANY companies that are not "Chains", that have fantastic reputations, so I agree with Jeff.....have them show you the numbers......not only on successful SS Closings, but also with deficiencies being waived, fall throughs, withdrawns, etc. I am also not a fan of 3rd party companies....some, not all of the agents that I see use them, don't have any experience, nor want to do the work associated with a short sale..
I have dealt with NFCU on many short sales.....they can be difficult. They like Promissory notes!!!
Good luck on your SS. Go with your gut. Usually proves to be correct. :-)
TG
-
Permalink Reply by Edie Czerniak on
-
I am hearing banks don't want 3rd party negotiators involved, they want the agent to handle the short sale.
Edie
-
-
Um...I have to chime back in but Robert is dead wrong. MARS RULINGS ONLY COVER LAWYERS, and then even so lawyers have to adhere to certain guidelinest to be exempt. No Realtor is exempt from having the MARS FTC disclosures in their paperwork. Also, any third party can negotiate, so long as they do not charge up front fees and comply with the laws of their state and have MARS FTC disclosures in their paperwork.
Also, keep in mind in Realtor history, negotiating short sales is fairly new to MOST Realtors. There are some Realtors that have done it for quite some time, but mostly Realtors got into negotiating short sales BECAUSE THEY HAD TO. It was the only way to get all this distressed property sold so when the housing market crashed, Realtors were pretty much forced to learn how to negotiate short sale. Things started to go down in 2007 so it's fairly new to most Realtors.I also have seen exactly what Tasha said that many agents use them when they don't have experience. THAT'S EXACTLY why SOME 3rd party companies get hired. Realtors typically should be very careful if they decide to negotiate a short sale, which is why there is no exemption for them under the Safe Act OR MARS. Any Realtor can ask their E/O company to see if they are covered and most E/O companies will say HECK NO because of the liability. So I actually think an agent who hires a 3rd party company that doesn't have a lot of experience in short sales is doing EXACTLY what they should be. They DON'T want the extra work OR LIABILITY associated with a short sale, so they hire a 3rd party company to do it for them. I would much rather deal with a 3rd party company that negotiates 24/7 than an agent that has no experience.
Not all agents are equal and not all 3rd party companies are equal.
-
-
My question is this, if the realtor can not use their E/O to protect them, than what type of E/O is the 3rd party using for their coverage protection. One more thing is there such a thing as a 3rd party license, or does one just get up one morning and decide I am going to be a negotiator for short sales.
Smitty said:Um...I have to chime back in but Robert is dead wrong. MARS RULINGS ONLY COVER LAWYERS, and then even so lawyers have to adhere to certain guidelinest to be exempt. No Realtor is exempt from having the MARS FTC disclosures in their paperwork. Also, any third party can negotiate, so long as they do not charge up front fees and comply with the laws of their state and have MARS FTC disclosures in their paperwork.
Also, keep in mind in Realtor history, negotiating short sales is fairly new to MOST Realtors. There are some Realtors that have done it for quite some time, but mostly Realtors got into negotiating short sales BECAUSE THEY HAD TO. It was the only way to get all this distressed property sold so when the housing market crashed, Realtors were pretty much forced to learn how to negotiate short sale. Things started to go down in 2007 so it's fairly new to most Realtors.I also have seen exactly what Tasha said that many agents use them when they don't have experience. THAT'S EXACTLY why SOME 3rd party companies get hired. Realtors typically should be very careful if they decide to negotiate a short sale, which is why there is no exemption for them under the Safe Act OR MARS. Any Realtor can ask their E/O company to see if they are covered and most E/O companies will say HECK NO because of the liability. So I actually think an agent who hires a 3rd party company that doesn't have a lot of experience in short sales is doing EXACTLY what they should be. They DON'T want the extra work OR LIABILITY associated with a short sale, so they hire a 3rd party company to do it for them. I would much rather deal with a 3rd party company that negotiates 24/7 than an agent that has no experience.
Not all agents are equal and not all 3rd party companies are equal.
-
-
Obed, There are PLENTY of Realtors who had never done a short sale and had to start somewhere, which I'm going to assume is the same as a 3rd party negotiator. The other thing is MANY 3rd party negotiators ARE licensed agents. Now, does that mean they all are...NO because most states don't require licensure for 3rd party short sale negotiation. Are you saying because they may be unlicensed they aren't qualified to negotiate a short sale? Of course not. Lawyers are licensed and I can tell you I've worked with a few and sorry...they were HORRIBLE at short sales. Just because you have a license doesn't mean you know the ins and outs of short sales.
Listing a property and helping market a property for a seller is not the same as negotiating a short sale. An agent who has experience marketing and selling property may be excellent. There are a lOT of old timers in my area who know how to get property sold that don't necessarily know how to deal with a lender, who isn't allowing $3500 to second lien holder. I commend that agent for knowing they don't have that experience, and outsourcing negotiations.
-
Permalink Reply by Ann Wilkins on
-
I usually represent buyers of short sales and I have not had good experience with negotiators. It is just one more person in the information loop. The negotiator just did not communicate with the agents involved. Just make sure that whoever you choose really markets your home so it doesn't linger on the market forever.
© 2024 Created by Short Sale Superstars LLC.
Powered by
**********************************
like buttons