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What you need to know when hiring a Short Sale Agent
Our intention is to earn your business whether you’re going to be buying or selling a property. However, if you do find another agent you feel is better suited, we wish you the best.
Unfortunately, the landscape of real estate is littered with agents that are taking advantage of the vulnerable situation many in our community find themselves. Additionally there are now many agents who claim to be short sale experts, but are simply not qualified to effectively help those that are in distress.
This following list is put together to help you make a knowledgeable decision when hiring your next agent.
What you need to know…
- Do not use any company that charges upfront fees, or that require you to pay any money directly to them at any time during the transaction. The bank pays the real estate commissions as well as all other costs associated with the sale of the property.All of which is paid at Close of Escrow.
- Make sure the agent handles the short sale directly and has closed at least 20. Each short sale is different and you need to make sure the person handling yours has experience in dealing with the banks.
- If an agent does not have experience in short sales and negotiating the contracts, they probably do not have the contacts within the banks and do not know the language needed in the contracts to protect you. Not having this information can cost you months during the process, or even worse, foreclosure.
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- Make sure that the agent you interview and chose is the agent that you will be working with throughout the transaction. Many times after your initial appointment, you will be dealing with assistants and other agents, not the agent you hired.
- You should be very wary of anyone that uses a third party “specialist” or another person to negotiate your short sale. there are numerous horror stories about these situations going poorly or leading to foreclosure. In most instances, you will never meet the person negotiating on your behalf. They will know nothing more about you and your hardship than what is on the paperwork you present, and you are only another file to them. You need someone who has your best interest at hand. We have closed numerous Short Sale transactions that most other agents, much less an outside firm would have given up on and consequently gone into foreclosure. Sometimes the intangible factor that gets the job accomplished is caring. when you are a number there is not much caring involved.
In addition, these outside companies charge additional fees to negotiate the short sale. If the bank does not agree to the fees, the short sale might not be approved or the agents will have to agree to lower their commissions… If the agents don’t agree, it will not be approved and you may face foreclosure. We do not charge additional fees and only are paid by the bank, when it closes.
- Be careful of any agents that have an “investor” that will submit an offer AND handle the negotiations of the short sale. If the investor is negotiating the sale, they are negotiating in their best interest, not yours. These investors are trying to buy the property at a large discount in order to turn around and sell the property at a profit.
One of the problems that arises is the lenders complete an appraisal on the property and know what the market value of the property is. In most cases, they will not approve the “low ball” offers that are submitted. If they are not approved, the investor moves on and you may not have enough time to obtain another offer which can lead to foreclosure. It is a numbers game for the investors, not about helping people… If they can take 5 short sales and get 1 approved, they will make money. Our goal is to close them all.
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