Why walk away??
I work with many agents who will tell me that they walk away from listings when there is a high probability of there being a short sale.
They are walking away from business, leaving money on the table, so I am prompted to ask, “why?”.
This is what they tell me:
#1- I don’t understand how short sales work. It is too confusing.
#2- I don’t want to work all that time and have my commission lost in the expenses at the end.
#3- Short sales take too long.
#4- I sold one once and it was too frustrating.
WHY LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE?
Now, of course, we would ALL prefer to sell a ton of traditional real estate, but in this marketplace the odds are very high that you will be called in to evaluate a short sale. Since we can all agree that short sales are here to stay for awhile, doesn’t it make good business sense to learn how to work with them?
To answer these most mentioned issues above:
#1- Educate yourself about short sale process. There are great resources on the internet or ask an attorney who works with them to meet with you for a primer.
#2- There is a small chance that your commission might end up reduced at the end of the transaction. Much of this depends on your broker’s stand on payment of commissions and how hard they bargain with the lenders. Even when the commission is reduced, isn’t a reduced commission better than none at all?
#3- Short sales can take longer. Not every short sale will, but it is common. Prepare your seller and the buyer or buyer’s agent with reasonable timelines handed down from the lender. Keeping everyone informed will afford more patience in the transaction.
#4- If you were involved on the buyer side of a short sale and didn’t understand the process, I am sure you were frustrated. Education is key here.
It is a good idea to have a short sale attorney involved from the very beginning of the listing process. Massachusetts Attorney Nyles Courchesne offers this tip to real estate agents working on a short sale: “I would suggest that Realtors gather the usual requirements (2 years’ tax returns, 12 months bank statements, last two paystubs, hardship letter, etc. . .) before the property is sold so that we are prepared to submit the entire package without delay when we have a contract.”.
Realtor.org has a wealth of information for agents needing assistance in short sale training.
Realtor Magazine has covered the topic at length, as well. This is a helpful article about disclosures in short sales.
The Huffington Post is weighing in on the topic with Dispatches from the Displaced.
NAR posted this helpful short sale flyer with good information about the work NAR is doing with lenders.
I wrote a post called Short Sale vs Short Payoff with a link to an e-book that explains a lot, too.
This is just a drop in the bucket of information that is out there for agents and sellers who are facing the realities of short sales. There is an opportunity out there for agents to specialize in helping people out of this distress. The business is out there, the sellers need help and you are perfectly suited to give them the guidance and care that might save them from foreclosure or huge personal loss.
