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Short sale - West Bloomfield MI Tip #58, don't realize to late that your agent is not a Short Sale realtor,. Mike Sher (248) 644-4700 x 242 (edit/delete)

Wow, I just got a call from one of our soldiers overseas who was to closing on a Bank Of America Short Sale today.  He started off with "I know you are not my Realtor but I need your help."  He proceeded with the story of how he was suppose to close on a home today but both Realtors were unable to reach Bank Of  America (BOA) to get the final ok on the short sale.  Their BOA contact was out of the office and was unreachable. His wife flew in to Detroit from Washington State for the day and needed to fly home.  If they could not close today, they most likely will not be able to buy the house since his wife is needed back home and he was ½ way around the world. 

Side note: The first mistake was made when the closing was set without the BOA's contact knowledge.  We must remember that these negotiators do get sick and have vacation time and they are not available as needed.   The listing agent most likely made the amateur mistake of not keeping the BOA negotiator in the loop.

Back to the story:  I proceed to let him know what I would do.  I would have the 3^rdparty authorized person call 866-880-1232 BOA's short sale hot line and find out who is covering for the negotiator in his/her absences.  RULE number one of getting unstuck in a short sale is going back to the beginning.   Many Realtors just end up filling the voice mail of the negotiator they have in hand and wait for a call back.  You must look at short sales like chess, just because a queen is considered the most revered piece, often the pawn is what gives you the check mate.  These Pawns/customer service/ Short Sale support people often wield more power and know how then the King, queen, or knights all put together.

After the agent calls the main short sale dept, then they should shoot an email to the negotiator that is out and see what the auto reply says.  Often the auto reply will give you the name of the person you should talk to in their absence.  Next, call and email all of the parties that the agent spoke to in the process getting the short sale approved.  This again is "the going back to the beginning approach", remember, the agent spoke to a lot of people before she/he got the approval.  Any of those people might be able to get you back on track.  When one gets lost in the woods, they go back to the last wrong turn they made and then make the right turn.  Same thing in short sales, better to take 3 steps back then 10 steps further in the wrong direction.  The next thing the agent should do is go back on to equator to email all of the parties available explaining that our negotiator is gone for the day and we have to close.  I would add that the buyer is a soldier serving over seas and this situation is really causing him a lot of stress.  Every one appreciates what our solders are doing so adding that detail should help.   After that email is sent, the Realtor should get some action soon. 

The real issue at hand is that neither the listing agent nor the buyer's agent really know what they are doing.  The fact that this soldier/buyer had to contact me off of a blog that I wrote from across the world because his agent did not know what do and was unwilling to call for help herself is VERY sad. That is why it is so important to get a realtor who knows short sales.  Whether you are buying or seller a short sale home, an experienced agent makes all the difference.

Mike Sher, Max Broock Realtors, Bloomfield Hills MI, Shortsale@mikerealtor.com and (248) 644-4700 x242