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Has anyone used an attorney to negotiate a short sale?

Posted by Ray Nelson on November 24, 2009 at 1:14pm in Short Sale Discussions
I have heard, but not confirmed, that the success rate and commission level with an attorney negotiated short sale is much higher. I have also heard that the bank will typically pay attorney's fees. That sounds wonderful, but has anyone ever experienced this before? Additionally, what kind of attorney would you use? I spoke with one of our local, experienced settlement attorneys and she said that she didn't have the staff to handle it. Finally, how much will the bank pay? I mean, the level of negotiation I have experienced with short sales is nothing short of exhausting, so am I way off the mark here?

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Tags: attorney, negotiation, sale, short
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Replies

  • Lynn Pineda December 2, 2009 at 10:18am
    As with anything there are Attorneys who are good at their short sale negotiations and then there are those that are poor in their negotiations. I've dealt with both. I too do most of my own negotiations yet I'll receive Attorney Short Sale referrals and I simply list the property. Just like there are Realtors who are good at what they do in negotiating Short Sales and then there are Realtors who haven't a clue. It's a lot more pleasant to be on the "in the know" side, that's for sure!
  • Dawn Barrier eXp Realty Vegas November 30, 2009 at 6:00pm
    So far I have not used an attorney, however I do advise sellers to seek the council if needed. Sellers have told me they have checked with a few here who charge the seller up front fees of $1,000 or more just to get started with no guarantee. They say they can come in with official letters, etc to speed up the process, etc...but have not heard of any success stories using one.
  • Gary Waters November 29, 2009 at 9:13am
    I have one in progress now. The lender is National City Mortgage. We shall see.... I will say one thing though - it does not appear to move any faster!
  • Tiffany Cloud November 26, 2009 at 10:48pm
    My partner and I have one in progress right now with an attorney... it was a refi with money taken out that was used to pay off autos, vacation, etc... We have closed one other with the same firm.

    We use an attorney that has a dedicated paralegal staff for short sales. Our client payed $500 up front for the first lien (additional $250 for a second lien). Agents pay nothing. On the one that we closed, we got our full commission. The law firm secured 2% of sales price to cover their own fees from the bank.

    I have to tell you that unless the case is tricky, I won't use the attorney as a standard. I find that adding a third layer is frustrating from the control point of view. I am fairly certain that the negotiations were not any faster, and I am quite sure slower than I could have done myself. I often got one sentence, canned status updates and was not happy with their communication. The attorneys office assumed I knew nothing and talked to me as if I knew nothing about real estate, short sales, etc when I tried to get more specific information from them.

    I would try to find a law firm that could provide references and talk to some other agents that have used their services. We provide references, testimonials for our clients why shouldn't they?
  • Clayton Bonjean November 25, 2009 at 8:21am
    Here is my 2 cents. As the buyers agent, I have had one good experience with an attorney working a short sale and one horrible experience.

    What do I mean by horrible? I email the attorney to request updates for my client 3 to 4 times without a response. The short sale has been re- assigned to a new negotiator after 6 months. The attorney has no information and avoids calls and emails from myself and the listing agent. It is obvious that our short sale is on the bottom of his list.

    Attorney or Agent is not the issue. You just need some one that knows what they are doing, knows how to follow up religously, and knows how to communicate.

    Clayton Bonjean, Broker
    Mainsail Realty Company
  • Nicole Borsey November 24, 2009 at 2:46pm
    I agree - I do it myself, YOU have the control... will that ATTORNEY fight for YOUR commission when the bank tries to negotiate it?? As for the banks paying attorney's fees... I have gotten BOA to pay $1500 for the SELLERS attorney who did NOTHING but close..... and as much as $4000 for the same from another lender..... I think it was SPS...
  • Sharon Alters, CDPE, GRI November 24, 2009 at 2:44pm
    Ray, I am on the buy side of a transaction where an attorney is negotiating and I have actually given advice to the person handling the negotiation. :( Perhaps the attorney will step in later and show his expertise, but so far I am unimpressed. They do not keep in touch - I have to call them and when I call them is when they call the bank. I so want to step in and take over the negotiations! If you know what you're doing, I agree with Jeff and Wendy - you will do the job right and you will know what is said first hand.
  • Ray Nelson November 24, 2009 at 2:12pm
    Wow, BofA paid $3k in attorneys fees? Mind boggling.
  • Wendy Rulnick November 24, 2009 at 1:30pm
    Ray - I like doing my own negotiations. That way, there is a quick, direct response to requests and immediate market and property knowledge that a third party cannot have. I am sure there are good attorneys, though! As for fees, I have had attorney foreclosure defense fees paid in one short sale case, at about $3000.... by Bank of America.
  • Jeff Payne November 24, 2009 at 1:22pm
    I have not, I don't see the need for it, what can the attorney do that you can not? I have been involved on the buyers side with a particular listing agent who uses an attorney and it is actually quite laughable. Not saying there are not good short sale attorney but I believe in the old adage "if you want the job done right..........you know the rest.
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