I know, I know I'm going to get hammered for this one but I have to ask opinions on this. It has dawned on me that as banks try to improve there short sale operations, homeowners begin reaching out for short sale guidance and agents KNOWING short sales comprise of a large amount of inventory are WE now the ones sometimes HOLDING up the short sale process and the speed at which these deals can get done???

The superstars on this site know the importance of professionalism and attention to details in this amazing and challenging niche however there are MANY that are unresponsive in getting proper documentation, collecting FULL packages, don't complete there tasks, and ultimately slow the process down.

So could it be that WE now are the ones who are sometimes the problem? Curious on everyones thoughts.

Views: 1261

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

We have been told by many lenders to meet the BPO agent at the property and give them our information. 
I have had BPO agents drive an hour to do a BPO on a property we had listed.  I have had them call and ask if we could pull the comps since they are not familiar with the area. 
Donna I have had more problems with investors wanting more money than the home was worth than bpo agents giving an unrealistic value.  Unless the investor agrees to take what they can get it does not matter what anyone else does.

Bryant and Donna,

 

I can agree.  Organization and negotiating skills are extremely important in this business in my opinion.  And as Donna mentioned, other unprepared parties can share a big part of the blame for some of the problems so far.  Sometimes, the problems can even be the seller or buyer.  Success has an awful lot to do with the overall team effort.  And that's pretty true in any challenge.  That said, it is up to the team leaders, (agents in this case), set the example, keep the rest of the team focused and ultimately steer the transaction in the right direction.

 

It just so happened that all 3 agents I was working with were supposely experience, however it seemed that their skills were very lacking at best and nothing seemed to light a fire underneath them.  I don't think that an agent can say every short sale is going to be a 3 month or less affair, however as a listing/selling agent, you can plan accordingly, make projections and keep the rest of the team informed.  As a buying agent you can do a fair amount of research on the property.  It almost appeared that they were all doing this for the very first time.  Furthemore, the most experienced person on the short sale team (the selling agent/negotiator) passed himself off as a short sale specialist and company VP on the company website.  In reality, he was the least responsive of all.  And by admission of the agent, all of the seller's paperwork and buyer's required documents were in place at the start of the transaction.  Altogether, it was a receipe for disaster and failure.  I didn't need to look further at the seller's lender for failure, I saw it within the team itself.

 

Off the orignal subject but in similar analogy, just like in the game of football, a quarterback will make certain reads and motions to hold the attention of the linebackers and defensive backs of the defense, if he wants to make the play a success.  By similar logic, a selling agent has to do the same to hold the attention of a buyer.  Successful coaches will always say to their team, "Why do we play the game?"  The answer is, "To win."

Hi Eric. Absolutely! You shouldn't get hammered ... it's the Agents handling Short Sales in a less than mediocre manner that should be hammered! If these Agent only understood that it would be better to pass the baton to a Short Sale Agent who specializes in this niche market and be happy to receive a referral when it closes as those who specialize have a high closing ratio. Wouldn't it be better to be paid on a referral instead of no closing at all due to lack of their Short Sale skillset? Or more important, doesn't it bother them when they're messing with the life of a distressed Seller when they're jeopardizing their home going into foreclosure. It has always been a hard one for me to understand.

As has been previously mentioned, there are certainly people who are real estate agents who are less than competent, and they are currently involved in short sales. Most likely, you won't find them blogging in here or carrying any type of certifications either.  Those of us who care and get involved in our profession as a way of life vs. those others to whom its just a job. Unfortunately, they are out there. You know,  the ones who "don't answer the phone after 5pm" or "don't work weekends",etc. let alone know which end is up. 

A few years ago I had the opportunity to meet our State  Commissioner of Postsecondary Education. I expressed to her how I felt that in our state it was just way too easy to obtain a real estate license with no actual knowledge of how to conduct the business. You just have to pass the test. The test where you can purchase the answers, memorize them, and ta-da, you're a real estate agent. Scary huh?

 

I suggested the equivalent of 2 semesters college coursework and 6 months on the job training with a provisional license. After meeting those pre-requisites, then one could apply for their license and pass a real exam, similar to the bar ( like lawyers) because lawyers can write real estate contracts without a real estate license.....and we are doing the same thing lawyers are, writing legal contracts but we get to skip law school and internship.

 I must disagree with the author of this post. It's not us, it's them.

Thank you Eric!  No hammering from me.  As stated by others -- too many agents doing short sales who shouldn't be.  I've stirred up a few feathers around my office, because my stand is even stronger than yours.  Other than the listing agreement, sign, and accepting the contract (about 20% of the process), short sales aren't even real estate.  I have an investment banking and corporate finance background.  Only those with sound, basic business fundamentals will be successful in short sales.  You don't need what I have, but you need something!  Understanding the financial markets is key and critical to doing the right thing for your clients.  'Escalate' was the 2010 buzz word of the year. It drove me nuts! The banks were learning right along with us.  And now, they're pretty much there.  They don't want the inventory any more than we want to wait 6 months to get paid.  But, we're all bound by rules that were created when nothing made sense to anyone.  They're modifying and progressing, we're learning and prgressing, and those of us who have this thing down can create a win/win.  Interview your buyers' listing agents and don't take listings that don't have a qualified hardship.  Step one of 9,000, but many don't even get step one right.  Unfortuantely, few of them will be reading this ....

Great post Marti!  Just like yourself, I'm from a different background however, I just happen to be an involved buyer.  BTW, Go Sun Devils!!!
Great question and great comments.  I would have to agree that some agents should not be doing short sales.  These agents have not the education or the skills to negotiate a short sale.  At a Bank of America Summit that I recently attended, they said that only 30% of short sales actually close.  The reasons are the buyers walking and not obtaining another buyer, not getting paperwork in a timely manner.  I close 95% of my short sales.  I attribute this to having cooperative sellers, that are educated on the process and know that if the lender requires additional or updated information, it needs to be provided quickly, a system that is organized and methodical and constant communication with all parties involved.   We as professionals need to step it up.  With 10 million homeowners underwater in the United States, 4.6 Million 30 days + behind in payments and only 20% of the homeowners seeking help, we need to step up our game.  This means that 80% of troubled homeowners will go straight to foreclosure without seeking help.  These numbers are horrifying to me.  Not only do the homeowners need to be educated, in my opinion, it needs to be mandatory for an agent to be certified to do short sales.
I absolutely agree with you on this one. It takes a lot of dedication, attention to detail, and perseverance to get a short sale done. If agents are not staying on top of everything then they are doing a disservice to their customers. It's also an ethical issue in my opinion. Some agents don't know how to go through the process, and that's fine. But it's unethical to take a listing that you know that you aren't sure you can sell. At the very least you should have a broker behind you who can walk you through it. If you are just taking shots in the dark on a short sale you aren't doing anyone any favors. Good post.

Nathan, I have been saying this for a long time.  It is unethical for an agent to claim to be an expert when in fact they are far from it.  Not to pick on any designations but to give an "expert" designation by taking a 2 day internet course is a bit of a stretch to me.  I have no problem with taking a short sale listing with no experience as long as that agent is going to do everything they can to get it approved and closed.  Taking a listing knowing that you are NOT going to work it with all of your might is a real ethical issue as far as I am concerned.

 

Eric, I too believe that we have been our own worst enemy in regards to short sales.  We have people who take a 2 day course and consider themselves experts without ever doing a short sale.  We have agents taking short sale listings by telling sellers of their vast experience with short sales and most of all we have agents who clog the system up by not knowing how to prepare and submit a proper short sale package and agents who are sending in multiple offers and incomplete forms. 

I have talked to and personally met many short sale negotiators for the banks and for the most part, they have their opinions but the resounding opinion is that they love to work with agents who understand short sales and they can tell when an experienced agent submits a package by just looking at the package. 

There is blame to be placed on both sides but I have to say the problem lies more on our side.

What other business can you start with a few hours of class and be able to handle the largest purchase or investment in most peoples lifetime?  Too easy to get a license and way to easy to keep the license.  Need to thin the herd and raise our standards of professionalism in my opinion.

Banks need to start reaching out to us for help but until we thin the herd of the agents who don't want to take the time to become professionals, I don't blame the banks for snubbing us.

 

RSS

Members

© 2024   Created by Brett Goldsmith.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

********************************** like buttons ************************