What To Look For and What To Be Carful Of When Hiring A Short Sale Agent

If are going to be buying or selling a property, we hope to earn your business and will work hard to do so. If you do find another agent you feel is better suited, we hope the best for you.

Unfortunately, amongst ourselves and the other group of good agents, there are many people in the market taking advantage of peoples vulnerable situations. This list is put together to help you make a well informed decision when hiring your next agent.

What to look for and what to be careful of when hiring your agent…

Do not use any company that charges upfront fees, or that will require you to pay any money directly to them at any time during the transaction. The bank pays the real estate commissions, when the transaction closes.
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.
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. We have heard 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 that you build a relationship with directly and that you can trust has your best interest at hand.

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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