Yesterday I received a call from a buyer..not just any buyer..but another REALTORS buyer. Angry...Screaming...and misinformed.
It seems they called "the bank" to find out what is up with his offer...now this buyer claims the bank told him to tell the REALTOR to submit the offer...that REALTOR being me.
This irate voice attempted to bully...threw accusations about the seller...and turned around and demanded that the seller sign their offer.
Until I set the record straight.
"The bank doesn't own this property, the seller does....understand I work for the seller and not the bank and in order to have an offer accepted..both buyer and seller must agree...sign..and the offer submitted and returned to all parties" I'm sorry but the seller refused to sign the back up offer and your REALTOR was informed!
Silence
The buyer's last words: "I don't understand why the bank told me this?"
My response: "Me either, then again I don't understand many things about banks, do you?"
If you are in the process of buying a short sale understand as a listing agent we deal with the seller directly, we answer to the seller and we are hired by the seller. My agreement is with the seller and not with the bank. An offer is an offer and will remain an offer until all parties sign and the contract is delivered to all parties!
If a property is still owned by the seller...seller dictates which offer or offers they sign...it's up to the bank to decide whether they accept the shortage! Nothing more
Reading short sale information on the net...remember each state is different...call a local REALTOR for accurate information!
About The Author: Midori Miller is a licensed real estate associate with CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty, Real Estate Trainer and Manager . CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty is located in Volusia County with 2 office locations to better serve the public. Daytona Beach and Ormond by the Sea.midorimiller@yahoo.com (386) 453-3236
Midori, Excellent post as I think education is key and we will be talking about short sales for quite some time.
Nicely done, Midori. I think the biggest misconception about short sales is that the bank already owns the property. As a result, too many buyers go into the situation thinking they are going to get the deal of a lifetime because the bank just wants to unload the property. Not so.
Kathy
Midori, Terrific information. I handled a short sale for a SELLER a few years ago when this all began. I had to inform the bank in that case many times that I DID NOT represent them, I represented my client, the SELLER. This was one of those banks that created the problems we are now facing by refinancing and misrepresenting and, dare I say, lying to people whose backs were against the wall?
Midori- Oh, the short sale syndrome. The misinformation, the misunderstandings and miss opportunity because the banks won't get their acts together. No wonder we are in such a mess! Good luck as you work through the process. Great reminder of who our responsibilities are owed to and are accountable to.
Hi Midori,
Excellent advice for buyers! Have been in this situation before where the buyers are misinformed about the short sale process and assume the banks make the decision on their offer. :)
Midori - This is great, I liked it so much that I reblogged it. I hope you don't mind.
Great info, Midori. Short sales have always sounded like such a great deal for a buyer. But, there's much more to them than the name implies.
Midori - What a great post ! I remind buyers agents of this all the time as well as consumers. There is so much misinformation out there. I say the same thing, that the seller still owns the property and the sellers must accept the deal first before anything can happen.
Midori, when you set the record straight, did you roll your neck and head and snap your fingers at the same time like they do on TV? Just wondering! Because you told him!
~Renae
Midori ---Love your blog --- hope you don't mind but I'm printing it out to use with my newer agent/owners --thanks so much.
Midori, Did this mininformed, angry person APOLOGIZE? I realize they didn't know what they were talking about and were upset but I'd hate to have to deal with someone screaming at me--especially when they're wrong!
Amazing that he called angry. Im sure he was very apologetic and humble at the end of this conversation.
Midori - there seems to be a lot of confusion around these deals and how they are handled. I have had short sales where the seller signed multiple offers and all were submitted to the bank. And in other cases only 1 offer, and not the highest, was signed. Sounds like someone's agent was NOT doing their job very well.
Jeff
It kills me that Realtors don't imform there clients properly!
And people think we get paid too much.....guess this is just part of the educating we do. We could all probably add "Adult Educator" to our title. Good job at hanging in there, Midori. Hope you get it closed and you get paid!
That's a whole month full of "blog fodder"...things I don't/won't understand about banks...let me count the ways...let me count the banks...whoops...ran out of fingers, toes, and other appendages...abacus anyone ?
As a buyer, I can see where the other buyer was possibly misinformed by their Realtor. Not all Realtor are created equal, as I am sure you will all agree.
Reluctantly we are involved with our second short sale process as buyers, it has been 46 days and nothing, the first took four months to get an accepted offer and then the listing agent sold it out from under us to a cash buyer for $5,000 less. They changed escrow companies midstream so we sent a new check for our earnest money and he sat on it and it was returned to our Realtor in our postmarked unopened envelope after the sell was closed with the cash buyer, there is a long story to go along with this, but..... Obviously all part of his scheme to sell to his own cash buyer most likely to not split commissions? We are still considering legal actions.
I thought when the seller provided a hardship package and ask the bank to accept a lower amount than what is owed that the buyer is suppose to accept all offers and then it was up to the bank to decide if they would be accepted?
I guess as a buyer you might be better off to wait until a short sale has been in process (sitting on someones desk) for months than make an offer? I am just asking because it seems to less waiting and probably just as good of a chance?
Hi Marie-the bank is there to accept the shortage plain and simple.the seller still owns the property until the property is foreclosed..if offers are signed by both buyer and seller yes in the State of Florida they must be sent to the bank all of them. But if a seller decides not to sign...they do not have to!
Yes the seller must fill out a hardship package but it doesn't state anywhere in the documentation that all offers are to be signed and submitted. Its just a package to see if the bank is willing to accept the shortage. The seller has the right to decide as well.
Most short sale packages are submitted with offers so if you want to buy a short sale there is a good chance you might be sitting on someones desk..its just part of the process and if you choose not to go through the process on most occasions...there a chance...you won't be buying the property. If I had to move within 3 months there is a good chance I wouldn't buy a short sale...we are working on 45 days and are still waiting to see if the investor will accept the shortage!
Lucky for me...I'm working with a great REALTOR and their customer has been fantastic! Good Luck and just think how good you will feel once your offer accepted! Its the waiting game that is tough! :)
I think it is pretty much illegal in ALL states for a seller to sign off on offers agreeing to sell the same property to multiple buyers...