Honesty Is the Foundation of Any Real Estate Sale – Temecula Valley California Short Sales
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Honesty Is the Foundation of Any Real Estate Sale – Temecula Valley California Short Sales
I read a blog post this morning, “ If You’re Thinking of a Short Sale – read on… “, written by Mike Cooper, Agent and Broker of Winchester, Virginia, on the topic of short sales. The main point found at the end of the post asserted not to hire an agent who guarantees success, but one who does guarantee 100% effort.
I list Temecula Valley California short sales and negotiate short payoff with homeowner’s lenders. I know I never guarantee to any homeowner their lender will accept a short payoff. However, I will guarantee 100% of my effort to make the short sale successful.
The success of a short sale hinges on the approval of the lender. In my short time (pun?) of listing and negotiating short sales, I have had one short sale request that was denied by the lender. I was told the reason for the denial was because of “investor’s guidelines,” and my clients’ financial situation did not fit in those guidelines. Again, short sales are at the discretion of the lender, or investor.
This is why Temecula Valley California short sales are marketed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) “short sale subject to lender approval.” It’s not up to us agents to decide, or to say, what will or will not be approved. We can make the short sale request, that’s all.
The other failed short sales I’ve experienced were because of seller’s non-cooperation. That’s right, you heard it here. Who would think sellers would refuse to cooperate in their own short sale? It happens for various reasons. If my short sale world is a microcosm of what is happening in the greater picture of short sales, I would say the main reason short sales fail is because of the homeowner or short saleseller.
[Many blog posts have been written on the subject of appraisals, and/or Broker Price Opinions, and how they affect the outcome of short sales, but that is not the subject of this post. To date, I have not had a failed short sale because of an inflated appraisal, or broker price opinion.]
Sometimes during the short sale process there may be what I call “document mishaps.” These are when documents sent to the lender were not received, or there are missing pages, difficult-to-read copy, missing information. Sometimes there is confusion about the purchase contract. There may be inaccurate and incomplete information on the part of the buyer. My job is to comb through the pages and find those “errors” before sending to the lender.
I do the very best I can but sometimes I fall short (pun again?!) of being perfect. I don’t know everything (I wish I did). I go by what my clients tell me and the information and documentation they provide me. As I tell all prospective short sale sellers, hiding financial information will get them absolutely nowhere in a short sale.
It’s important I explain and discuss first with a homeowner before listing their home as a short sale, what is involved, what they can expect, and what I will need from them during the long, short sale process (oxymoron?).
Honesty is the Foundation of Any Real Estate Sale
We’ve listed the short sale seller’s home for sale. It’s out on the inter-web. I call my favorite local agents to promote my new listing and to see if they may have a client interested in buying my client’s home. I’m happy when one of them says, “Yes! I do have a client who is interested.” If I receive an offer from one of my favorite, local agents, I’m in heaven, really, because I know we will both work together to complete the short sale for the sake of both our clients.
Honesty is implicit in the relationship. We know the other, we know real estate professionals the other knows. It’s a small community. We want to work together in the future. Why be dishonest? Why lie and jeopardize our clients’ best interests in the real estate transaction? Why ruin a good business relationship because of deceit? We just wouldn’t do that. Unfortunately, we’ve all come across agents who are dishonest.
Trouble Comes From Buyers and Their Agents in Temecula Valley California Short Sales
I recently worked with a buyer’s agent (out of the area) who was dishonest. I didn’t expect it. Though looking back there were signs I didn’t heed because the offer for my short sale seller’s home was the best one I had received. Hindsight is 20/20.
The buyer’s agent spent inordinate amounts of time on the phone bragging about himself and his buyers. I should have known this need was to shine the light elsewhere. His cavalier attitude about our clients’ contract and the short sale process made me nervous.
I discovered later there were errors in the purchase contract and documentation the buyer’s agent provided me. The buyer’s agent became defensive when I confronted him on the errors. He played dumb when I requested certain information of his buyers that my short sale seller’s lender needed to approve the short sale. I sent the request in emails, and left voice messages. He stalled. Days went by and I still didn’t receive the information I needed. It took broker intervention to get the information.
Like I said earlier, I’m not perfect, so I don’t expect perfection from other agents. I do expect cooperation if there is a mistake and we need to correct it so we can move the short sale forward.
Long story short, when we finally received short sale approval, and it came time for buyer to deposit earnest money, the buyer’s agent lied to me that the check was going out by federal express on a certain day. When it didn’t happen, I sent a notice to perform. He sent nasty emails saying I “pissed off his buyers,” and that they were cancelling, and so on.
As I told him in a return email, getting pissed off at me has nothing to do with the contract his buyers signed.
Unprofessional at best, but the dishonesty is what gets me. I don’t believe this buyer’s agent’s clients had any intention of buying my short sale seller’s home. Perhaps something better came along, but if so, have the decency to be honest and inform the other side.
If I were to receive another purchase offer in the future from this agent (which I doubt), what do you think I would do? I am required to present all offers to sellers. It would get presented but with a footnote: Honesty is the foundation of any real estate sale. This particular agent has shown himself in the past to be dishonest and uncooperative. His clients did not follow through according to contract terms. It’s your call.
What say you?Pamela Seley, REALTOR®
Short Sale Resource | CA DRE lic # 01824145
www.temeculavalleyhome.com | Dir 951.491.4063 | Email pamelaseley@gmail.comServing Southwest Riverside County California| Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Winchester, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Lake, Corona, Wildomar
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All information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Copyright © 2009-2011 by Pamela Seley, REALTOR®
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