I recently conducted a short sale workshop at a local Realtor® board. There were 120 registrants; the room capacity was 100, and only fifty people showed. This doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I struggle to figure out why this occurs and what makes the average agent tick.
To me, learning about and listing short sales in certain parts of the nation is a great way to keep very, very busy in a down market. With our national unemployment rate factoring in at a little over nine percent, there certainly must be borrowers in most parts of the United States who may need to entertain a short sale.
But, the way to make money listing short sales is to list more than one. Short sales are pretty unpredictable transactions, and you really never know when they are going to close. It’s difficult to gauge how long it will take for the bank to respond. It is also difficult to ascertain whether the buyer is really going to stick around for the long haul. As such, you have to put a bunch of short sales into your pipeline.
In order to do manage a large number of short sales, you have to have a process. And, you may even need to have a team. Remember last year? Everyone was amazed that a small college like Baylor University made it to the NCAA finals. But, that coach did a great job putting together and managing his team. When was the last time you evaluated your team? Who is best at sales? Who is best at paperwork? Who is gifted with marketing?
Short sale listings require traditional marketing and advertising. Also, significant time is spent preparing the short sale package, calling the lien holders, and negotiating the lien releases. So, identifying the players skills and assigning tasks that are best suited to each team member may help you to balance more short sales listings and see more closings.
So, with March Madness just around the corner, have you taken the time to evaluate your team? Are you polished enough to make it to the Final Four or do you need to work out the kinks and try again next year?
