In the last week I have received many responses to the last blog that I wrote (Do They Really Know What They Are Doing?).  The majority of the people (who happened to be homeowners) have told me that after working a short sale with Bank of America for months, and having strong offers, the bank foreclosed and never gave a response to any of the offers.

One of these was a homebuilder who had more than $200,000 equity in his house, and even so the bank foreclosed. Well, BOA clearly shows the it has no feelings involved with these processes. I truly believe, however, that it is my responsibility as an agent to follow up with this bank and make sure that my listings are not foreclosed in the middle of the process. I can say that I have saved each of my listings from foreclosure between two and four times each during the short sale process. It is a long and frustrating process, one in which I spend over three hours doing it each time, but I truly believe my clients deserve this time and effort.

I show the bank that it is a good business decision not to foreclose, and when they see that I do not give up calling and calling until the extension is given (I think I become a pain in their...), then they do it.

Your clients really deserve an agent who is working in their best interest.  Are you really up for all this hassle?  If the answer is no, please refer these clients to an agent who is willing to make this commitment and has the experience to make it happen.  It is better for everyone involved, and could mean the difference between bankruptcy and saving the client's financial future.

A couple of weeks ago, I contacted Bank of America to try to stop 3 foreclosures on different properties where I had submitted offers about 4 months ago - and all this time they had not "had time" to assign a negotiator.  Usually, I need to call three or more times before I am lucky enough to find a person who really wants to help me and make the best of his/her time for the company they work for.

The first person who answered the phone told me that there was no way to stop the foreclosure unless the negotiator said so.  By the way, remember I still don't have a negotiator?  Between calls, a negotiator had been assigned - who decided to close the short sale without telling anybody.

I hung up in frustration, and called back again.  The person who answered the phone this time told me that she cannot do anything.  I asked her to transfer my phone call to her supervisor, and she asked me to hold.  10 minutes later, she returned saying her manager was too busy, and after looking at the file her manager stated that the offer was too low and they needed one more than 30K higher in order to stop the foreclosure.  It was now clear that the only goal she had in mind was to get rid of my phone call and move on - the numbers did not make sense at all and were considerably higher than the outstanding principal.  I hung up again.

Calling for the third time, I reached someone who really wanted to work and do what she was being paid for.  After sharing my frustrations with her, she explained to me that her company received 400,000 short sale packages every week!

The numbers do not fit in my mind, but let's assume it is accurate.  I said - with these kinds of numbers, the company must be hiring like crazy.  She said "Yes, indeed, they are hiring."  But who are the people who are in charge of these files?  I realized that every time I make a call, I need to talk to at least three or four people before I find someone who really wants to work and deserve their monthly paycheck.  So how much are the banks losing for their lack of interest or ability to hire people who really care about doing their jobs right?  Employees who really care about the bank and have the knowledge to do the job.  Do they really know what they're doing?

Tell me: are you hearing the same volume from your lenders?  How often are you speaking to the same person you spoke to in the past?  Do the people you talk to have the knowledge to be able to do their jobs, or are you training them - saving Bank of America the training expense?

Two closings I had a couple of weeks ago were Short Sales where I represented the buyer for a change.  Interestingly enough, both sellers were proactive.  They knew all the parties involved wanted to achieve the same goal: Close.  That is why they allowed me to talk with their lenders on their behalf during the final stages due to the fact that their Listing Agents were not familiar with Short Sales.

Both of these short sales took less than 2 months to complete and close, and the attitude of one of the Listing Agents was great.  He knew that the only way to close was with my help.  He was open to learn, to listening to all the advice I gave him along the way, and to share with me all the difficulties he encountered during the process.  We solved them together, without ever failing to represent his client's best interests.

I am working right now with another Listing Agent who does not have a clue about Short Sales, and her ignorance equals the size of her ego.  I'm sorry if that makes me sound rude or egotistical, but the truth is that I am not comfortable if someone else is playing with a Seller's financial future. 

We are living through some tough times, but I think our values and ethics as Real Estate Agents needs to rise above any kind of personal need of the moment.  My advice for all agents who are getting involved with Short Sales is to learn the process, and the obstacles you might encounter, from a specialist before you play with someone else's financial future.  If you do not feel savvy enough, be proactive.  Co-op with an agent who can share with you their knowledge and experience, or work with the buyer's agent who has been through several of them and knows the ropes.  Use their experience to build your own.  The war of egos should be over, try to give your client the best service you would expect for yourself in their situation.

We can all work together in situations like this where we generate a win-win situation for everyone, not competing and starving each other.  Share your ideas for how we can cooperate in this fashion for everyone

Prudential Georgia Real Estate is now offering a revolutionary program called Homeowner Education and Loan Protection (HELP) designed to offset fear of buying in this economy and market.  Many people who might consider buying a house right now are putting off that decision becasue of uncertainty about the economy and their job.  Car companies have been offering Payment Protection programs for this very reason, now Prudential is taking that idea to the Real Estate market.

With unemployment hovering around 10%, this is offsetting the effect of the Federal $8000 tax credit, Georgia's $1800 tax credit, and the indredible buyer's market we are experiencing.  Even with these incredible numbers, people are hesitating because they are understandably worried about the safety of their job.  This program will help alleviate the hesitation.

The HELP program is administered by the Rainy Day Foundation and available now from certified Prudential Realtors.  It combines the Payment Protection program with an Education program to help the buyer during the first two years, with the goal of helping the buyer stay in the home.  The program costs $500 and is funded by the Seller at closing.

With this program, if the buyer loses his job within 24 months of purchasing the house, the program will pay up to $1,800 per month for up to six months.  Buyers may negotiate it into the purchase contract, or sellers may offer it in order to make their properties stand out and be more attractive to buyers.

Click on http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?p=44059 to view a video explaining the program.

Now is the moment to really understand what is most important in our lives...

In speaking with various people I've found it interesting that for us human beings these moments are going to be a new history in many areas.  One of them is changing our idea about pride and what success means.  Having to decide between trying to do a Short Sale or lose your house in a foreclosure, many people opt to ignore their situation until it is too late.  In their eyes, it is shameful, and their sense of loss of confidence is very high for many of them - ending in depression.

I am not a psychologist, but I can share with you that I am a human being, one that life has taught from a very young age that having pride about the wrong things can lead me to disaster.  Over the years, I have understood that the life these things have taught me were not something to be ashamed of.  They were to raise me up, learn a lesson, and keep going forward being stronger and smarter.  What tough lessons they were....

Two weeks ago, I had an appointment with a young gentleman who wanted to understand his options about Short Sales.

When I met with him in my office, he apologized for not speaking well...  At first, I did not understand, it seemed to me that he spoke perfectly (he does not have a thick accent like mine... ? ).  After a few minutes more, I understood - that because of the level of stress that he was living with the economic problems and with the thought of losing his house, half his face was paralyzed.

We spoke for several hours, and after a couple of days he called me.  He said that he was ready to begin the Short Sale process.  When we met again, several days later, he was another person.  His face was much better, and he was very optimistic about the future.

For me, it is an honor when a person allows me to walk with them during these difficult times, and show them that there is hope and a new beginning at the end of the Short Sale process.  I have no doubt that I will meet all my clients again in a couple of years, and they will be strong again - in their mind, their spirit, and their family.

Once again, I come back to the fact that while these transactions are harder and sometimes less financially rewarding, the personal reward that I get out of helping people more than makes up for it.  Share your stories with us about helping people, or about people who could use this kind of help.

A couple of days ago, I was talking with one of my colleagues about Short Sales.  I was astonished when my colleague told me the story of one of her clients in Woodstock, GA.  The client had a first mortgage and a line of credit with one of the banks that was saved from collapse by being bought out during the crisis.  During the Short Sale process, the second lien holder said that the only way the Short Sale could happen was if the client signed a deficiency note - because when they signed the papers for the line of credit, they signed two types of notes: one against the house, the other was a Personal Note.  Since the lender had the Personal Note, they felt they had the right to have a deficiency note signed by the home owner, or otherwise the Short Sale would not happen.

The client decided to sign the deficiency note.  Three months later, and life has moved on.  They now live in a different state.  Their son won a scholarship to go to college, and their life was taking a positive turn.

Last week, they found out that their bank accounts had been frozen.  They had left their checking and savings accounts with that same bank that had required the deficiency note.  The bank froze their accounts and took all the salary earned by the husband - and did not stop there.  The son who was going to college also had his account with that bank, and had received his scholarship payment as well.  But since he was a cosigner for them.....  The bank took all the scholarship money as well.

How far can a bank go with a deficiency note?  Far enough to ruin the life of a student waiting to start his college career, certainly, and without a moment's troubled conscience. 

This story has helped me fight even harder every day for my clients, and to NEVER accept a deficiency note in any of my transactions.  If you end up agreeing to one on behalf of your clients, at least tell them to make sure they don't have any other accounts with that bank - or any of its tangled siblings as the banks buy each other out.

Please share your good and bad experiences with me - we can learn from each other.

Last month, I closed on a property located in Loganville, GA, representing the buyer.  The property was brand new construction; the bank had foreclosed on over one-third of the subdivision.

Even though it was a foreclosure, the bank agreed to pay for:

$5,000 in closing costs
$   480 for a home warranty
$   330 for HOA transfer and assessment fees
$   300 to install two new windows that had been broken
$   400 for a termite bond

As we were closing, the attorney saw those numbers on the HUD and told my client that he might have had a good advocate in the process, and my client agreed with him.  When the closing had ended, the attorney turned to my client and told him that he had closed that morning on a house in the same subdivision, with the same floorplan, for a price $35,000 higher than we were paying.

In these times where everyone is counting the pennies, you need to look not just for an agent who will represent you, but for an advisor who will advocate in your favor during the whole process.  One who will help you to purchase your dream home while looking out for your best interests.

I would like to earn your business by providing you with that same level of service, and have a client for life.  What do you buyers think of this kind of service?  Leave us a comment here and tell us what kind of service you are looking for.

I love hearing that these blogs are helping people in one way or another, whether it be a seller in distress or an agent trying to make some Short Sales happen, to gain experience and make more transactions in this very difficult market.  But I don't think the lenders are getting the same message.

One of the longest transactions I've ever had over the years I've been doing Short Sales is with one of those lenders who "didn't need the Bailout money," they said, in order to survive.  But in the end, they decided to accept the government's money anyway - or excuse me, our money - yours and mine.

The theory they started out selling us, the public, was that the money would be used to help all those people in financial distress.  A few weeks later, the lender decided instead to use the money to buy another large bank.

So, you will understand if I sprinkle a little sarcasm in my story about this lender.  I have been working on this one since September 2008, when I sent an offer I received to the Loss Mitigation Department.  The negotiator assigned to the file took all the way through December and into January to even order the BPO.  When the BPO came in, he decided to counter for about $4,000 more than the offer because the offer seemed low.  By the time he countered, now it was February.

So let's do the math.  This man waited four months to process the file, order a BPO, and make a counteroffer for $4,000 higher.  This means the negotiator was asking, in effect, for the amount of money the seller had not paid on the mortgage for those 4 months.  Is it fair to the seller, who his doing everything in his power to sell the property, when the negotiator delays and delays the process?

After the negotiator finally gave me the numbers for the counteroffer, and the buyer actually accepted them, I sent all the documents.  Once again, I could not reach anyone by telephone until a month later, when by magic, the loan was assigned to a different negotiator.

It took all of February and March to finally have this new negotiator answer my calls, who proceeded to tell me that their counteroffer was for even more money than they had originally agreed.

After convincing the buyer yet again, the negotiator finally sends me an approval letter, with which the closing attorney tells me he cannot close because the terms are unclear and the transaction might be open to fraud.  Yes, fraud.  After explaining all this to the negotiator, he decides to send me a new approval letter, asking for yet another higher number (for the third time changing the numbers and the approval letter).

Then he had the temerity to tell me  that if the buyer did not accept this change, I should reduce my commission to match his numbers. 

I would love to know if this negotiator is paid a flat salary or a commission.  I would love to know if he's willing to give up a little of his salary to close a short sale.  Or maybe, as we see in the news every day, he not only gets a salary, but a nice bonus.  But to me, the real question is: Are they doing the job they're being paid to do?

Now you ask me, why are you doing this?  Why put yourself through all this?  Well, let me tell you it's not all about the money.  As you can see, left and right, they always want to cut my commission.  But at the end of the day, I firmly believe that I've helped someone begin a new life and have a new opportunity to reconstruct their future and their financial standing.  Maybe I'm naïve, but the truth is I feel pretty good.  Especially when I win one of these big battles.

In other words, the only kind of STIMULUS PAKCAGE that homeowners in distress receive is through fair and honest agents that do not give up in the process, fight for their clients, and make a Short Sale happen.  If any of you are in need of this type of Stimulus, let me know.  You can be assured that you are in good hands.

An investor called me and told me that he was interested in buying all my Short Sales. I was thrilled, even though I thought it was too good to be truth. I met with him at my office and he gave me a contract that I would have to use to work with him.

In explaining his contract to me, he said that his "idea" to buy all my short sales that I had been working was that he would make an offer from the beginning of the process (with a rather ridiculous amount) and that I had to find another buyer to make an offer (for more than his).  Then he would give the other buyer the option to buy the house, but he would keep the difference between the two offers at the end of the transaction.

I talked with my lawyers, and in Georgia it is not illegal to agree to this kind of transaction, but from my point of view it is unfair.  Especially when I as a Real Estate Agent am representing a seller in distress, not the bank, not that investor.  I understand that every human being needs to make their living, but it is not always the fair way.

Sellers, would you like it when a person is taking advantage of your situation, playing with your financial future.  How many of you believe that this investor is going to be fair, if the bank does not accept his offer, or the investor does not allow any competing offers to be presented if he does not make money on the transaction.  Even worse, how many of you believe that this investor will buy the house at the end of the day, if he's lucky enough for the bank to accept his offer, but no second buyer has come along to make another offer?

Short Sales are demanding and can also be a source of revenue for lots of investors.  Which of these investors will be interested in the seller's financial future?  It was good for my sellers that I am interested in their financial future and helping them make a new financial life for themselves.  Let me know if I can help you protect yours.

I was working with a client in Kennesaw GA.  He was convinced that the honest thing to do was to try to continue paying the mortgage as long as he possibly could, even when his wife had been fired and they need to use what little savings they had to try to make it.... Until a Short Sale was approved.

Eventually we received an offer and waited for over 3 months for an answer, with weekly phone calls to the Lender's Short Sale dept. Finally, I received an answer: This file is not a top priority for the Lender to review. They do not have a time frame for the review process, and the person who gave me this news promptly hung up the phone on me.

How can it be that the lenders in this country are punishing those who are trying to be good citizens, do what they're supposed to do, and "play by the rules"?  In this case, my client was continuing to crunch numbers and make huge sacrifices while they were waiting for an answer.

Is this really the time to be trying to teach us all to be bad citizens because this fits the Lender's Guidelines?   Please tell me what kind of behavior we should expect and accept from these lenders?  They are already more responsible for the problem than is the public.  Do we have to give up our moral principles in order to become a priority file for the lender?

Let me know your thoughts.  Why do we bail out those who have caused the problem at the expense of those who play by the rules?  What can be done to fix it?  How do we tell our lawmakers to apply some "common" sense to common problems?  Leave a comment here and let us know.