Buyer's Agents Are the Biggest Roadblock to Closing a Short Sale

Buyer's agents are the biggest roadblock to closing a short sale. Buyers, if you've been writing offer after offer on those short sales without success, perhaps it's time to fire your agent. I'll probably get a lot of grief for saying this, but that's the way the cookie crumbles or the pooper-scooper scoops, pick your metaphor.

As a busy Sacramento short sale agent, it's getting to the point where 2 out of every 3 offers I receive for my sellers are garbage. They are not real offers. I'm not talking about the expired preapproval letters, outdated earnest money deposits, or missing short sale addendums, because those are screw-ups that can be fixed. I'm talking about offers from those buyers who have little motivation to wait for the bank to approve the short sale.

Why don't buyers want to wait for short sale approval? Because their agent told them they don't have to. Their agent told them to write as many offers as they can because when they all come back approved, they can have their pick. Why would an agent suggest this maneuver? So the agent can get paid faster. Some agents can't wait months for a commission check because they're not closing deals on a consistent basis. But this is not in the buyer's best interest. This practice is in the agent's best interest. According to the Realtor Code of Ethics, agents are supposed to put their buyer's interests above their own.

If a buyer cannot afford to buy more than one home, a buyer could be breaking the law when writing multiple purchase offers. Does the buyer's agent point out that fact to the buyer? Probably not. Greed and stupidity often go hand-in-hand.

The whining that I get when I call agents on this deception is: "My buyer just wants to buy a home." Well, guess what? My seller just wants to sell a home. Maybe we should put the two of them together? You think?

Some days I am ashamed to be part of this profession. Buyers do want to buy a home, and some want to buy a short sale home. Maybe agents should get out of the way and let them do it.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.

The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.

The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.