How long have you been actively working with Short Sales?

We have been actively working with short sales since 2007.  Prior to that we were Real Estate investors.  For over 10 years, with the last 6-7 years, working closely with families who were facing foreclosure.  The distressed property marketplace is very familiar territory.

How do you “work” your short sales?

This is a great question, we work my short sales to ensure success.

1.       we price them at the value we feel confident the bank will accept

2.       we prefer to work one offer at a time to completion

3.       we strive to be upfront with Buyer Brokers so they know exactly where things stand

4.       we provide regular updates to the Buyer Broker as to any changes good or bad

Many Realtors will submit multiple offers and my clients get “bumped” after waiting weeks or months.  How can we work with you to ensure my clients offer is secure?

Another great question.  First, let’s look at perspectives, the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. 

The listing agent has only one goal - sell the house.  In a short sale to accomplish this you need to submit an offer that the bank will approve and still have a buyer waiting to close the transaction.

The buyer’s agent has only one goal – sell their client a home.  In today’s market a short sale is not the choice of many buyers due to the length of time it takes and the possibility it may not work out.  For this reason an offer on a short sold property may be only one of many offers.

So, the bottom line for both agents is one of security!  If both agents can answer the following question with confidence you will have a very high percentage chance of both meeting your goals: “Has a commitment been made to ensure the offer is realistic?”  It’s that simple.  If the offer is realistic then the listing agent knows the offer will likely get approved and the Buyer is serious and is willing to do what it takes to demonstrate their commitment.  The buyer’s agent knows their offer will be the only offer submitted to the bank and worked to completion.

What do you look for to “ensure the offer is realistic” and commit to working solely with my Buyer?

1.       Is the offer realistic?

a.       No low-ball offers –the list price has been analyzed for maximum success

b.      Buyer has no other offers submitted

c.       This is the house the Buyer wants

d.      The buyer is willing to wait at least 60 days for an approval

2.       Is the Buyer willing to open escrow with a “non-refundable” deposit (held for 60 days non-refundable) upon Seller’s acceptance of the offer.

What if you get a better offer after ours is submitted to the bank?

If we have come to an agreement and the offer has been signed off by the Seller, all other offers, better or not, will be held as backup offers and not submitted.

If I call you, are you open to questions?

Of course!  My job is to sell this home and complete the transaction successfully.  My relationship with fellow agents is critical so I will do everything I can to give you the answers you need.  Questions that you should ask any short sale agent include:

1.       Is there an auction date?  Likely there will be an auction date, but don’t be too alarmed as once the bank gets the offer the auction date will be postponed.  The farther that date is, the better, but we have personally successfully postponed an auction the morning of the auction with an offer – however, we don’t recommend waiting that long.  In almost every case, if there is a legit offer submitted the bank will continue to postpone the auction to complete the sale.

2.       How many Short Sales have you personally closed?  See below.

3.       Do you have all the docs ready to submit once you receive our offer?  In most cases the docs are gathered during the listing phase so in most cases we are ready to go.  We will be happy to give you specifics on a case by case basis.

4.       How many lenders?   Though this shouldn’t have a lot of bearing on your decision to proceed it is important to know, just as who those lenders are.  As you many know some lenders are a little more challenging than others.

5.       Do you have any other offers?   Important to know where your offer would fit in to the process.

6.       Can you tell me the amount of the offers received?    Yes, if w have received the approval from the Seller to do so.  Surprised?  This seems to be contrary to what everyone else is doing, but again, my job is to sell the house and my fiduciary responsibility is to the Seller.  Now, with that said, does it mean that if you submit a higher offer yours will be submitted?  Not necessarily.  If a commitment has been made to another Buyer/Buyer’s agent and their offer was accepted and submitted, all other offers no matter how great will be held as backups.

7.       If the previous offer fell out will you tell me why?  Sure, with Sellers permission.   However, Buyers fall out for as many reasons as there are stars in the night sky, but we will tell you what we can.

8.       Other possible questions:

a.       Has a BPO been done?

b.      Has a Negotiator been assigned?

c.       … and whatever else your Buyer has need to know.

How many Short Sales have you personally closed?

We have had the opportunity to help many families avoid foreclosure through successful short sales.  A list of my closed transactions can be found on this website.  As of this update I have closed over 50 personal listing transactions, most are short sales.

Why do you list your properties with a 2.5% co-broke?

It is important for us to make sure the Buyer Broker knows exactly what to expect for compensation and that no games are played.  What I post on the MLS, you will absolutely be paid!  No less!  No negotiations down the road.   Many times the lenders will only pay 5% on a short sale, so we both “get paid equally”.  However, having worked in the short sale business for the time that we have surprises surface that could normally kill a deal and knock both of us out of a commission.  As a result, there are too many times when fee’s, repairs or other expenses come up that require someone to pay.  At the end of the day that often ends up in my lap.  Having additional funds (when paid 6%) makes these decisions much easier, problems are easily addressed and the short sale closes successfully.

You specify a certain Title Company on your listing, why?

If you list short sales you know how important a good title company is and already know the answer to this question.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of working short sales as a listing agent, it’s a lot of work and it can be chaotic at times, requiring quick adjustments and rapid changes.  You see, even though the banks you are working with can take all the time they want to respond to you, when they ask for something if you can’t get it to them in VERY SHORT order, they forget about you and move on to other files which can cause significant delays.  It is important, therefore, to have a title company that also understands this, but also understands how you work and what you expect.   Working with the title company requested by the listing agent makes things as easy as possible for everyone involved.  If you or your Buyer want to use a different title company (as it is the Buyers decision), that’s fine just be aware you are asking the listing agent to deal with complex matters with an unknown title company and may affect the listings agent’s ability to successfully complete the process.

Why should I work with you?

Hopefully the questions and answers above give you a good understanding of who we are.  The testimonial section should give you an idea of some feedback from my previous clients.  I focus my entire business on short sales, in fact we would say 90% of all of our business comes from short sales.  Bruce has been certified through MSSC (Master Short Sale Consultant) and other organizations.  But most importantly is our actual record of success.  We take our work and our clients needs very seriously.  I look forward to having the opportunity to show you what we can do together.