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So my question is why is it that agents individually, continue to have to defend their paycheck against investor’s efforts to reduce commissions below the customary 6% and the never ending interference with a contract of which they are not a legal party to? Why is there not some sort of class action lawsuit on behalf of many thousands of agents that would have a ligament claim? Why is there not some sort of collective representation for real estate agent?

I would like to know. Recently I had the 6% total real estate fees cut to 5% with the typical ultimatum and threat to comply or the short sale would be denied. This was after 5 months with a prior offer approved in writing with an approval letter and paying the 6%. This was a bank owned short sale with Chase and no outside investors or MIP. All done by Chase and they simple said oops, sorry we made a mistake agreeing to the 6% on the first offer. We are reducing your fee to 5%.

So where is the collective effort by real estate agents to defend themselves?

Seriously can we not do better then this.

Is there any current collective efforts being made by somebody somewhere?

Michael

Too often, many homeowners doing a short sale read up on the internet and speak to friends, coworkers, relatives and anyone else whose done a short sale, about how they received $3000 relocation assistance by doing a HAFA short sale.

Sadly...this is NOT always the case. Simply going into the HAFA short sale program here in CA does NOT guarantee you will walk away with money.

Case in point.....First your realtor needs to determine if your servicer(the one you normally make or made your mortgage payments to for your 1st lien)participates in the HAFA program. Many servicers DO NOT!.

Also, even if your servicer(1st mortgage lienholder) participates in HAFA, the INVESTOR who is above your servicer and has final say so...may NOT be a HAFA participant.

Many 1st mortgage liens are SOLD to a private investor or group of investors that DO NOT belong to HAFA, nor do they have to abide by HAFA's guidelines and rules. 

OK, so let's say your 1st lien holder and their investor DO participate in HAFA and allow you to do a HAFA short sale.

If you have a 2nd lien, you need to also find out if THEY participate in HAFA...for if they DON'T...then guess what may happen when you go to close? Your 2nd lien holder could see the $3000 monies awarded to the seller(YOU) by the 1st lienholder and decide to GRAB or TAKE any monies on the table. Thereby preventing YOU, the homeowner from getting ANY MONIES awarded to you. Don't say NO...because I've seen it done.

Also...here's the kicker....and even better than the above. Let's say..Mr and Mrs Seller had a 1st and a 2nd on their home, and the 1st even agrees to a HAFA short sale, and so does their investor.And let's say your 2nd lien servicer WAS a participant in HAFA and agreed to participate. *  If your 2nd in this process gets SOLD OFF or CHARGED OFF during this process to a collection co. for x amount of months of NON PAYMENT on your part, then that COLLECTION co is NOT HELD to HAFA's rules and can collect the relocation monies at funding. The collection companies ARE NOT SERVICERS...and therefore they DO NOT belong or partipate in HAFA's rules or programs...so  since they are a collection company..they can TAKE the monies left on the table. Remember people...they are a COLLECTION company...they don't call them a collection company for nothing!!!!

Remember the 2nd lien holder, whether it be a servicer or now a collection co...has begrudgingly accepted what the 1st will give them, and they are NOT happy.

Please make sure when doing a short sale that you interview an agent who has done them extensively and has much experience in negotiating short sales. Please don't assume EVER that because an agent has these CDPE or SFR designations...that they KNOW or are VERSED in NEGOTIATING short sales. These companies handing out designations are PRIVATE COMPANIES charging realtors a $500 or more fee to take a 1 day or sometimes just a several hour course in short sales. THIS DOES NOT mean your realtor knows in the slightest how to navigate and negotiate the slippery slope of short sales. Many of these realtors who have gotten their licenses not that long ago or get these designations because they know that 50% of the market is upside down and if they want ANY business, they better get with the program and start handling short sales.

I am not knocking these designations....there are agents who have them and legally have experience and know how to handle short sales... the main thing is to check for experience in how many short sales they have done...and if they have DONE it themselves. Farming it out to 3rd party negotiators or attorneys, does NOT guarantee success.

Please ask many questions about the short sale process and scenarios. There is no magic wand that anyone can wave to make sure your short sale goes smoothly, for many things occur as roadblocks to navigate along the way. But with a strong negotiating agent who is familiar with all the ins and outs and possible scenarios that the banks, lenders, servicers, investors,and collection agencies throw our way....hopefully having this extensive knowledge and experience can help you obtain a successful outcome.

There are approx 7,953 homes for sale in the Las Vegas area that do not have offers on them per the local MLS.

This is for single family homes without contracts on them.

Our pendings and homes with contracts on them are approx .... 11,634

The Las Vegas area homes available for offers has continued to drop again this past month largely in part to the foreclosure law law AB 284 that took effect on October 1, 2011.

Las Vegas Short Sales are approx 44% of the homes for sale on the market while foreclosures have dropped to about 16% of the homes on the market for sale.

The rest are equity sales that are typically flips,

 (homes that are bought at the auction then put back on the market for sale)

Going into the buying season with lower inventory means buyers need to be ready to put that best offer in on the first try as we are already seeing multiple offers again.

Home price are still historically low so that is also fueling the investors to buy here in Las Vegas.

I wanted to make everyone aware of a new real estate search engine called Revestor.

Revestor's patent pending algorithm generates and searches homes for sale by the highest potential returns.

1.) Homebuyers can gain confidence in their purchase by knowing that the home will rent for the payment.

2.) Investors can instantly find properties with the highest cash flow and cap rate in their neighborhood.

3.) Revestor's integrated services program connects Real Estate Professionals to assist them in the transaction.

It is a game-changer and if you are sick and tired of working 12months and 1000's of hours to close one short sale it is time to work with serious buyers and serious investors!

Revestor launches 11-11-11 in San Diego and then nationwide shortly thereafter.

If you are a Real Estate Agent looking for more leads I would suggest reserving your username today...here is a video walking through the site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC1bZ3RzKzQ and here is the fanpage: www.facebook.com/revestor

Wishing you an amazing Q4 and 2012!

Bill

PS Yes, Revestor does give SEO backlinks to your site on your profile and your individual listings.