Recently I have been contacted by two different parties in regards to short sales..investors....investors with empty houses, with equity lines and with assets they are afraid they will lose. Both investors extremely intelligent but like the rest of the world never expected things to turn out the way they have. Vacant properties...no tennants..and digging in their assets.
Don't assume anything about anyone requesting a shortsale...
Don't assume they do not want to pay for their mortgages...
Don't assume they do not want to find alternative solutions and please don't assume they want to file bankruptcy.
A couple of things to consider...
Ask The Right Questions...Probe..
After speaking with these two people just days apart one thing they both did..... was see a bankruptcy lawyer.
Both with different situations but one thing was common..they wanted advice on how they could keep their investments and not damage their credit and definitely did not want to file for bankruptcy. So was a bankruptcy lawyer really the best advice?
Just Because They Are Investors Doesn't Mean They Are Experts
I've had 4 conversations this week all stating the same thing. "Not sure what this short sale thing is all about. Can you explain it? This is new to me. And will it work for me?" Sometimes as professionals we should take the time and look at ourselves as consultants. We probe...We educate..and then the consumer can make an intelligent decision for what they want to accomplish.
Admit It To The Customer If It Is Not Your Speciality and show them what a true professional does either refer it out or share it with a pro!
It is a crucial time in real estate, people who stand to lose their properties or deplete their hard earned assets deserve to be serviced by a true professional. Our profession cannot afford to treat customers as guinnea pigs. I'm all about new niches and trying new things but when it comes to short sales I have a different point of view. Refer it out or share it with a pro. That means you want to do short sales learn...train..and practice on a customer but don't go it alone do it with a pro!
One of the investors waited a week for the agent to get back to them...to only hear they could not handle their business at all. One week..definitely in the investor's mind...time is running out! Still vacant...a daily loss..and still digging into their assets. We wonder why we are so stereotyped?
Appraisals
Ask the investor for what purpose was the appraisal done. Refinance, Equity Line or was it appraised as if it were a purchase for a new buyer. One of the investor's was brilliant and had the property appraised as if it were a purchase for a new buyer. Too bad the appraisal was just recently done. The same investor who lost 6 months of selling opportunity.
Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep !
One of the investors lost 6 months because some pro was not gutsy enough to price it right early on! This investor had enough funds to take to closing but in those 6 months the property was vacant...their interest rate adjusted and the lender cut off their equity line.
2nd Real Estate Training Tidbit
Even the pro's don't have all the answers..I had to make an additional phone call to verify what I stated and get back to the investor as to what my finding where.
Sometimes the pro's need a second opinion..much like a patient.
Sometimes that second opinion could save someone's life.
So how did these people find me? Do you even have to ask?
Activerain..mybloglog and twitter!
All Florida Residents...and guess what according to them..providing a little service...
I have customer's and friends for life!
One thing I learned from all these people is profiles really matter!
A wide variety of blog topics really matter!
Rapport was built immediately!
Imagine that we never have met face to face!
It's time to roll up our sleeves..
NO RETREAT...NO SURRENDER! Help Me Kill The Stereotype!
I always come running when you have been typing....but I have babbled on about short sales a lot. So, send me an email with clear instructions as to how I can add all those beautiful sunflowers to my page. pretty please.
Our area in Delaware does not do too much on them in my office but I have taken some classes on it. I can imagine the hard work...well good luck. I am still inquiring more into them though to learn a little more before doing any diving in.
Tom Davis - Realtor In DE
So true. You know what happenes when you assume! It can be a very embarrassing moment.
Very Informative blog. I like that fact that you have even admitted that even a pro like yourself needs help every once and a while, which is better than giving a client bad advice.
Hi Midori, great blog, great points, great wisdom! Great to see you this morning.
A ton of information here and lots of A+ advice. Short sales are not simple so caution is advised.
Midori~
I sure appreciate that you made this this point..."It is a crucial time in real estate, people who stand to lose their properties or deplete their hard earned assets deserve to be serviced by a true professional."
Midori,
The problem with short sales is the buyers don't want to tie up their time or money waiting for what if and the Realtors(R) aren't even guaranteed the full commission and that's why there is a lack of activity with them now....85% of the listings out there in my area are shorts and that is part of the inventory problem...I wish the banks would move quicker and I'm starting to wonder if they just want to keep all this inventory so it can just flounder around.
Midora- This is why we have our own in house foreclosure defense attorney. We have helped a lot of people. Like you said, refer it to a pro! We close on Short sales in the state of Florida. We just closed another one this week in Tallahassee. We co listed it with an agent up there, Mike Carlos and we split our listing side 50/50 with him, We got our full fee and the buyer was an agent and she got 3% commission which they let her use for her closing costs.
Neal- That is the agents fault if that is what is going on in Weston! We get our full realtor fee on most all of our short sales and some lenders do reduce our fee but only by 1%. We also never have the buyers tie up their money! That is ridiculous! We have it in our offers that the earnest money will be put in escrow upon lender's acceptance of the short sale. We add the FAR BAR short sale addendum.
I love short sales. We have helped so many sellers get clear and full satisfaction of their mortgages and buyers who are patient some awesome deals on a home. The satisfaction of helping others in this way is very fulfilling. Yep, it is hard work and time consuming but at the end of the day we get paid, there is a happy seller and a happy buyer and we sleep well at night. Katerina