I recently posted "The Problems you get with Short Sales".  It was a set up from the get go.  Short Sale transactions have popped up and hit us by storm.  Everyone seems to know what one is, inside and outside the industry.  The glass really is 1/2 full.  Let's use it to our advantage.

Original "problems" from other posting in italics.  Positve approach viewpoint in regular type.  Let's enjoy!

The can kill a street's, subdivision's, community's, town's, city's, county's, state's property values pretty quickly.  Great!  Now a whole wave of clients that missed out on the property run up before the bubble burst can now buy the home that they missed out on before.  In some areas, we have already dipped below 2004 pricing.  While the rest of the agents are wondering, who moved their cheese, you can go out there and round up buyers just by asking around for anyone that wants to take advantage of a huge buying opportunity.  What about the potential buyers for second homes, vacation homes, retirement homes, investment properties that wasn't planning on pulling the trigger for a few years?  That fingers been getting itchy for a lot of people.  Just reach into the barrel and pull one out.

If your not selling short in an area, you lose and the short seller wins.  If you built up a lot of equity or put down a large downpayment that has kept you from having to go short, the price you think you're setting "below market comparables" will be the low-water mark that any new short-seller next to you will use when setting their price.  Your time on market will be until the quality short sale properties sell out or force prices to where you now are having to sell short.  (There goes your plan to step-up).  This is the perfect time to be an agent!  What better time to work than in a market where sellers TRULY have to sell and sell QUICKLY!  If they aren't selling short, they've gotta price that home to sell and sell fast, otherwise, they'll trail the market.  The NAR statistics for my region don't lie!  Average days on market is still less than 100 days at over 92% of sale price to list price.  What does that mean?  Those sellers were smart enough to price right to sell first.  What normally happens, they think their home is worth more than the others or it obviously belongs on the low end of the pricing and they want to put theirs in the middle.

If the bank takes too long to respond and you're working with a buyer, they may get frustrated.  Hey, this is how we got most of our clients shopping out there in the first place.  Normally, buyers want to wait until their lease is closer to ending.  We personally are closing clients we met last summer or EARLIER on transactions this month.  We are currently setting up MANY clients for sales to take place between now and October because of leases not expiring until then.  Some get a great enough deal to make them comfortable in paying a couple double housing payments.  Now, when they say they're not ready to do anything, we just explain the lengthy process they need to go through to steal a home and that gets them started now.  If you talked to someone in the boom years that wanted to wait six months, how many would you have lost to another agent, open house, builder, etc.

Realtors have to waste time all through the transaction to follow up on the SS Dept.  True, but at the end of the transaction, your skin is a little tougher, your negotiating gets a little better, you navigate the phone maze easier, you get better at learning what to believe and what not to believe, you get more touches with your clients during necessary updates which they will tout to their friends as you "going above and beyond".  This will get you some clients for life and when you get referrals from them, they come to you with reverence and respect thinking that you walk on water.

SS Departments come up with ridiculous computer generated values or BPO's often above the most recent comparable sales and as such say there is no way they will accept the offer on the table.  Good, beat them at their own game by not even counting poorly priced homes as actual listings.  If it is overpriced, ignore it so someone can learn their lesson.

Reduced commissions for harder work following up constantly.  (I'm not an agent by the way).  I know in Arizona, there is a buyer-broker agreement that specifies the commission to be paid.  If you convince them you're worth it, you're giving yourself more clout anyway and deserve a minimum % to receive for compensation.  After all, if you're the one showing them how to take the fullest advantage of market conditions while other agents are avoiding short sales because of the difficulties, you deserve your compensation.  If you're the listing agent, you're rolling the dice by taking the short sale listing in the first place.  Instead of complaining, collect a retainer from the seller for $2,000.00 to ensure a minimum level of compensation.  Then, use the property's low price to have instant conversations from all of the neighbors that come to the open house so they can learn their property's value.  When do open houses ever have the neighbors talking to you so much?  Listings = more clients.

Lending programs have disappeared while SS offers were being reviewed for 4 months.  More motivation for buyers to NOT WAIT.  Or, as lending programs are announced to be changing or ending, use this to rush the departments along by instilling in them the fear of your client not qualifying anyway under the original terms.

"Declining Markets" labels now make many mortgages have a minimum of 5% down at 100% financing rates and mortgage insurance.  Isn't it funny how once this happened, banks started paying down payment assistance contributions and closing cost seller concessions?  This was awesome!

Unreasonableness from SS Departments when it comes to commissions to agents, closing cost contributions and down payment assistance.  Their unreasonableness has caused additional losses in portfolios held by these lenders and now they learned that they have to give them up or they'll give up more when the market slides more.

Short close of escrow periods.  Who do they think they are anyway?  Man it is nice to get a contract and then close it up and get paid in a 10 to 14 day period.  Granted, months worth of work are done before the contract is accepted but at least there's no limbo and the deal gets wrapped up quick.  Most agents have to farm anyway during a regular market.  At least now more transactions will close per hour spent working.

Weird stuff such as lender accepting an offer then changing their mind and foreclosing a couple of days later.  Great, now another REO property that will probably close for a lot less than what was submitted on the short sale.

Wasted time, wasted marketing, wasted emotions, wasted energy.  Less time spent in limbo in a transaction, no need to drip market to a buyer and the sellers have to price right.  Can you imagine how exciting it would be to buy a home at 60% of what it sold 2 years ago for (you'll be a legend in discussions they have with family and friends for a long time).  Since the seller has to sell, the marketing will always be specific and lack of activity will be related to pricing not some mystery question regarding your efforts or abilities.

Fake short sale assistance companies sprout up alongside the short sale seminar experts with 1 year experience or less, pretending to work for the sellers but actually jockeying for position with the lenders to secure relationships.  Hey, after your first rodeo, you get to say, "This ain't my first rodeo."  You really can legitimately talk to potential buyers and sellers as an experienced person that attended a seminar (even though you may know as much or more as the presenter since the market  is continually shifting and bank policies changing). Your experience will give your conversation material about the problems with short sales and how your experience will help them navigate through them.

I hope this helps you go out their and make a nice little fortune while building a client base that gets to learn first hand how dedicated you are to them and their goals.  May your experience in short sales create more referrals and faster sign presence than you could've ever dreamed of.  Short sales are the opportunity of a lifetime for us in the real estate business.  I love short sales!