Why a Short Sale Specialist is Better than a Neighborhood Specialist
Home sellers can easily find hundreds of agents eager to list their homes, but finding a short sale listing agent is more difficult. That's because a short sale listing agent does more than slap the listing into MLS and plop a sign in the yard.
The short sale agent not only handles the marketing of your home but also handles the negotiations with the bank. If the agent has no experience dealing with loss mitigation and negotiators, the seller is the one who suffers. More than half of my real estate closings in Niceville, Destin and Crestview for the past few years have been short sales. I know first hand what it takes to get them closed. Short sales are a ton of work and should not be left up to an inexperienced agent.
Searching for a Short Sale Listing Agent
When your are ready to list your home as a short sale it is important to find an agent that is experienced with short sales and understand the process. An inexperienced agent can cost you lots of time and often money by not being able to negotiate the short sale to your advantage.
Here are a 4 ways to find a short sale listing agent:
- Referrals From Family / Friends
Many sellers may already know someone who successfully closed a short sale, and that seller is an excellent source for providing a referral.
- Ask an Agent for a Referral
Agents who don't list short sale transactions generally know which agents are short sale specialists. Agents judge each other by harsher standards, so you're likely to be directed to a top-notch short sale listing agent. Plus, agents regularly pay each other referral fees, which means the referring agent has an added incentive to make sure you end up in the right hands -- because if it doesn't close, they don't get a referral fee.
- Attend Short Sale Open Houses
Talk to the listing agent and try to get a sense of how many short sales this agent has handled and whether the agent is knowledgeable.
- Use the Internet to Find a Short Sale Agent
Many agents talk about their experiences on their website, blog or social media sites.Look online for clues about the agents that are doing short sales.
Go to several agent's websites and look through the agent's listings. Are any of them short sales? Are those the agent's own listings or somebody else's in the office?
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