"Stick'um Up.....Or Else!!! I'm Your Short Sale Negotiator"

 

 

Short Sale Negotiators have a tough job! There are several reasons for this.

1) They have to try to make sense of home values and offers from all over the country. They often rely on the "opinion" of a local agent. The BPO (Broker's Price Opinion) written by an agent they do not know and who may or may not be familiar with that area.

2) They are victims of the method the listing agent uses and/or state laws. Some agents will submit multiple offers....giving the negotiator a lot of extra work, sorting through offers which could be months old. They might even end up choosing one which is no longer valid. Huge files and limited understanding.

3) They work for a division of the company which is a revenue-loser. Often this division is under-staffed, under-trained, and under-appreciated. Imagine bragging in a staff meeting that you "lost less money for the company than anyone else." Yikes

4) Finally.....Nobody likes them. All day long they speak to angry or frustrated agents, angry or frustrated sellers, angry or frustrated other lenders....understand?

Ok, tough job!

I can see why after awhile it's tough to use finesse and tact. Which might be why so many are using the "my way or the highway" approach to approvals. Everyone reading this post who has tried to negotiate a short sale knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

• The Push-Backs
• The Evasive Answers To Questions
• The Irritated Tone
• The Dry "Take It Or Leave" It Emails

But it's not completely up to them....even if they try and push you into thinking so. Normally there are other players and issues involved. Other lenders, HOA liens, Property Taxes, State Laws....even legitimate issues with the home such as mold or termite can play into the approvals. The key is to realize that we are all working toward the same goal....a close of the short sale.

I had two great outcomes this past week. Simply by holding my position (in one case for the seller and in the other for the buyer) I was able to get a solid concession and reasonable response from a short sale negotiator who had taken the stance....."My Way."

In the case of the seller....we needed a new approval date and the short sale negotiator tried to increase the approval amount by 50%. This was from the second lender and we had an amount approved from the first. Without going into detail.....this negotiator was assured that this was what they could get; the seller cannot be asked for a contribution in California and the agents work for a living. Additionally, the first was done. If the second did not give us an approval, it might go to foreclosure....when they get nothing.

They sent a new approval with the same amount due.

In the case of the buyer....we found mold in the home. Much tougher situation in a short sale. The buyer wanted this home very much, but also had limited funds for renovations and throwing an additional $15,000 was going to be very difficult. They also had small children, who could not be put at risk by allowing a mold-filled home to exist for any length of time. Although a typical thing would be for the listing agent to simply just force the issue and walk away, she chose to work with us. The logic was that this could come up for any future buyer, so let's try and get this done.

We did some number crunching and gathered estimates. We did not get the entire $15,000 agreed to by the negotiator...but most of it. And the negotiator was assured that we are going to close.

In both cases the original response was "this is not my problem" but the reality is that it is. Agents and sellers who feel they are forced to compromise and/or contribute, should think hard about the fact that these negotiators are going to start with the moon, and when they realize they can't get it....a star or two might just be enough. Frankly, they are just as anxious to close that file as we are.

 

 

 Karen Fiddler
Broker/Associate
The Fiddler Realty Team/eVantage Real Estate
Lic # 01494165

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