You Should Not Be Writing Offers On Short Sales...

You can call us as well. I've been doing a lot of expert witness work and consulting on non disclosure, fraud and landlord abuse issues for the past few years. I can't believe how some people can stoop so low as to take advantage of folks when they are down.

Nice post Sally and David. I try to avoid personal property in all deals - it doesn't belong on the contract. Very sad that particularly on a short sale someone would have so little compassion. I wish agents that don't know shorts sales would take the time to get educated or just not do them.

This is a very thoughtful blog subject. We see greed in this business, especially in hard times. Cue the song that Disney cartoon dog Goofy would sing...."Oh, the world...owes me a livin'"

Great advice as sometimes people forget the emotional side that the seller's are going through.

Not only do I like the content of your post, I love the photo of the house flipped upside down. So cleaver of you:)

Sally and David, I doubt that your buyer was trying to steal anything, probably just trying to include enough to bring the value up closer to the asking price.  Buyers are also in a sinking ship, not knowing if what they are buying today is going to be worth enough to keep thier lenders confidence a year from now, and anything they can do to bolster the value makes thier case look a little more palatable for the banker.

It is true that we all need to be a bit more empathic toward those experiencing hardships in selling but it is important to realize that everybody is facing hard times now. And the best way to put a positive spin on things is to point out to the buyers that even though they had to give up thier treasured home at a loss, they may be able to pick up a new home at a much lower price than they would have had to pay a few years ago.

Hi Sally & David, I agree, that takes real nerve or lack of compassion.  Great graphic of being "upside down".

I think it's ridiculous that this rant has no background info.

How does this spammer keep getting all over AR?

I had a short sale in escrow where I wished the seller had taken more of their stuff.  It was a dump - some nice stuff too.

I am a buyers agent and my concern and fiduciary duty is for the buyer.   I have had sellers ask me for "favors", and had one beg me not to make her credit the buyer $$ for the whole house of carpet that her dogs peed/ruined on while her husband was divorcing her.

Nice lady, but not my problem.  The business of real estate is just that....business, nothing personal.

You need to work in South Florida where everyone is from a different culture.  Most cultures go to the market and dicker for everything they own...down to the last nickle.

Short sales are an emotional process for a Seller. Having to give up a big asset they had, it doesn't make sense to give away their personal items as well.

Trying to include personal property in any real estate transaction can be a deal killer.  Trying to take advantage of a distressed seller is not an appropriate action.

Wow, I can't believe that some folks would try to take such advantage of the situation - thank goodness you are there, Sally & David, to be the voice of reason and compassion!

Sally and David-while I'm not a Realtor I've worked with clients going through short sales.  Selling a home is hard enough even in the best of conditions but short sales are especially difficult.  Somehow the image of vultures flying over head comes to mind. Thank you for writing a very thoughtful and compassionate post. 

I'm with you on that one.  However, short sale seller's can also be just as difficult, trying to exclude light fixtures and basic appliances like dishwasher and oven because they want to try and sell everything of value on Craigslist.  The only phenomenon is crazy, and I can't wait until it's back to being 2% of the market instead of 30%.