We are hearing a lot from some of the top Real Estate "Gurus" about market conditions and where our efforts will pay off.  This market is SHORT SALES.  We are advised that it is a big market and we can do well.  That may have an element of truth, but Agents MUST BE VERY CAREFUL IN DEALING WITH SHORT SALES.

In my office we conduct training on a weekly basis and try to keep up with the latest trends.  Recently we had a guest speaker who is a closing attorney and he was quite straight forward about the legalities involved in short sales.  The bottom line is that it is seemingly a simple procedure to take care of the paperwork on a short sale, but in reality there is much more to it than meets the eye.  There are areas in a short sale that borders on having to be an attorney, not a Real Estate Agent.  If I have a situation where the seller will consider a short sale, I will refer the seller to this attorney to that he can handle all the legal matters and eventually the closing.  This way he has all the headaches and is paid out of the closing costs, and I will still get my commission.

I am not by any means an attorney and have not yet done a short sale.  Agents in our office that have done short sales agree that this is the best route to take.  I would advise all agents who are involved in short sales to investigate this procedure to avoid possible legal problems with the contract and other issues with the bank or financial institution.  Just my 2 cents worth.  (after taxes and not including inflation)!