In My Short Sale Business, It's Better to Represent the Seller
"It's better to represent the seller"...Another corner heard from...at least Elizabeth is being honest here. Most listing agents would rather have the listing on a short sale. That way if two, three or four or more buyers walk, they'll still have the listing!
As an agent who NEVER deals with sellers, only buyers, I have a different approach.
My job is to find my buyers a house that they can actually buy on a scheduled time frame. And move into on THEIR schedule, not the seller's bank.
In other words I always work ONLY for the buyer, not a seller and CERTAINLY not a seller's bank. My clients seem to like that sort of service from me.
This week in review has been tit for tat. By that I mean I've received 3 short sale approvals and also lost 3 short sale buyers. Well, the buyers I have no control over. Buyer's agents are supposed to manage their buyers' expectations and explain to them the short sale process. But from what I've seen lately, agents are probably finding it easier to say, "Press hard, third copy is yours," than to educate. Or maybe there's something in the water.
An agent called me this week to say her buyer did not want to extend the short sale addendum. He had waited 60 days and that was long enough. Even though the file was in review at the Mortgage Insurance company, which means MI will respond within 10 days. 10 days to go, and the buyer flipped out.
In the second cancellation, the buyers had received approval and we were set to close. Like any short sale, the buyers are purchasing the home in its "as is" condition. The buyers decided all by themselves that the AC unit wasn't big enough to adequately cool the home, although it's been functioning fine for the existing owners. The buyers wanted to renegotiate the price with the bank. This is not an REO. As a general rule, short sale banks don't negotiate repairs.
In the third, the buyers simply developed cold feet, according to their agent. They went on vacation and talked about buying this particular home. Somewhere, probably between the hotel bill and champagne on ice, the buyers decided they were living outside of their means and canceled. Better now than later, the agent said. Not really. Later I'd at least have had hammered out the seller's contribution.
The thing is I will go on to sell each of these short sales once again to another buyer. I'm like 007, never say never. The likelihood is my sellers will close escrow eventually. Not every buyer is a flake. But the buyer's agents who represent these buyers are starting over with them. These agents will probably mirror the same steps and end up with the same result. Buyers who can't or won't perform. Isn't that the definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Although I did close a short sale this week in which I represented both the seller and the buyer. I don't really like dual agency. It's difficult to be fair to all parties under dual agency. I like crisp, clean lines drawn in my transactions. But I had sold this particular short sale home 3 times, to 3 different buyers who were each represented by their own agent. All 3 of them blew up. Over squirrelly reasons which, if I told you, you would not believe. So, to heck with the indecisive and confused; I sold it myself. As a Sacramento short sale agent, sometimes the only agent I can rely on, besides Linda and Barbara, is myself.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
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. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available 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.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
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