Ever since I lost a short sale to the auction block in 2006, I've been trying to keep tabs on the foreclosure activity regarding my Sacramento short sales. On that particular transaction, we were in the middle of negotiations with Bank of America when the next thing I knew, an agent called to say he had just listed that home in Land Park as an REO. Apparently, the loss mitigation department had not been communicating with Bank of America's foreclosure department. But sometimes negotiators simply close out files and don't inform the agents.

My first clue that something was amiss was when a woman called me yesterday. She asked for a copy of the home inspection for one of my short sale listings. I told her it was in escrow as an active short contingent and not available. Then she turned a bit snippy, insisting that she was entitled to a copy of the home inspection, as though this information was a public record.

No, only the seller and buyer are entitled to receive the home inspection. She has no rights because she is not a party to the transaction. She called me a 5-letter word and slammed down the phone.

Hmmm . . . why would a rude person demand to see a copy of the home inspection on a listing? Perhaps a person bidding at a public auction who thinks I represent the bank, that's who.

The next phone call came from a very nice guy who says he has purchased 54 homes in Sacramento so far this year. He began asking questions about this particular listing. He seemed focused on its physical condition. When I told him it was in escrow, he said it was up for an opening bid at the public auction at my list price!

An email had been sent to the negotiator at Wells Fargo, letting the negotiator know that the buyers and sellers had accepted Wells Fargo's terms, and we were ready to move forward. Apparently, Wells Fargo somehow let this one slip through the cracks and instead sent it to auction.

After much screaming at Wells Fargo, we were able to get the property pulled from the auction. Out of the fire at the last minute. This was similar to planting a squash on top of a football zombie just before the zombie eats my brains in Plants vs. Zombies.

Within minutes of halting the bidding process, the investor called back. He seemed impressed, pointing out that I must not be your average Sacramento short sale agent. He asked if I would let him know if any of my bunch of active short contingents fall out of escrow or when I list other short sales in Sacramento. You know what? I will. If you're reading this, thank you, Bob.