Someone I know recently passed a client along to me who owns a decent number of homes in the Phoenix area. Less than half have any equity in them; the rest would turn out to be short sales.
I passed them on to someone else without a blink.
This morning I received a possible referral on two more listings. Both are short sales.
I’ve not decided what I want to do.
This evening, another offer from someone across town to help with a short sale close to my office.
Again, I’m undecided.
Should I be?
I’m on record as being absolutely against the idea of short sales, primarily because I view them from the buyers’ perspective.
I’ve termed them “bait-and-switches.”
I’ve asked for them to be shunted to another page on the MLS.
I’ve told buyers not to waste their time.
I’ve written about the topic over and over again (not that Google notices, but I digress.)
But is this really the smart money these days?
Let’s look at this as cynically as possible, shall we? Is it worth it take the listing in hopes of planting a sign and generating ancillary business on a home I know almost certainly won’t sell? When I’m 100% against agents who do so on non-short sale listings, basically buying the listing with a bulls*** list price?
Is it different on a short sale when the seller isn’t going to get a thing anyway, especially if you’ve set the expectation that it’s almost certainly not going to happen? Do I plant the sign and spend a minimum of marketing figuring my chances of seeing a return are little better than the sellers’ chances of escaping the house with a foreclosure?
The seller’s not getting anything. Ought I jump in and try and get some money from the bank?
I’m nauseated at the thought, to be honest. But that doesn’t mean my brand of moral indignation is correct. Many agents do them. Some even do them well. Frankly, I could do them well if I chose to do so.
But I’m not sure they’re worth the time. And I’m not sure they’re consistent with how I think things ought to be done.
I could be wrong. Convince me, mein kinderlich. Convince me.
