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Short Sale training lasted ALL day

Cynthia and I just did an all-day training on short sales and foreclosures last week -- probably the third or fourth training we've been to on this topic.

We've decided (and redecided at each training) not to take on the short sale specialty ourselves for a number of reasons, but we wanted to know what we are talking about.

There are several agents in our office who are specializing in short sales and we will refer clients to them with confidence anytime one of our contacts needs this type of service.

Why not do short sales? Well (and this is our own business decision - others will see it differently and make their own choices) ...

It's better not to try to be all things to all people. Short sales are VERY different from ordinary real estate transactions, and you either jump in with both feet or be a dabbler. If I were a client needing to sell my home short, I would want someone with PLENTY of experience (NOT a dabbler). It's complicated and there's a lot on the line for the client -- so if our clients need it, we're going to send them to the most experienced specialists we know!
The consequences of doing something incorrect can be negative indeed for the client's finances and credit. Again, no place for dabbling; we would not want that on our consciences.
It is a long, long road to a closing, with much work, potential liability, and much lower chances of success. That's fine if you're willing to set up specialized short-sale systems to process lots of transactions and play the odds. We just think there are those doing it better.
You have to be temperamentally suited to taking on a client's crisis tranasaction without going into a certain amount of crisis mentality yourself. It has to be "just business" or your heart will break! Honestly -- we'd have a problem with doing that, day-in and day-out. It's one of those rare cases where empathy actually works against you.

With all that said, we learned a TON about the foreclosure process, how it works, and what the stages are, etc. and we think that would be GREAT information for the blog. So stay tuned!

Posted by Cynthia Calisch and Preston Larus on 07/07/2008 12:51 PM

Comments (4)

short sale, foreclosure

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4 Comments on Short Sale training lasted ALL day

Foreclosures can be very crazy- It takes time to learn the way to a short sale.

All the best.

Bill

07/07/2008 12:59 PM

by Bill C. Merrell, Ph.D. (Merrell Institute ~ Appraisal Education Network)

I'm not a big fan of short sales unless an exit strategy is required, which may not always be the case. Sadly, many times the short sale is the first line of defense suggested when homeowners find themselves in a bad position. Your reasons for not taking on short sales are admirable. Numbers 1 & 2 could stand alone for many Professionals and should be heavily weighed by those who only "dabble." Thanks for the posting!

07/07/2008 01:05 PM

by Gregory Lohr (Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services)

I greatly respect you for recognizing that short sales are not 'your thing', I wish many other Realtors would realize this!! As a closing agent for an attorney owned and operated title company I specialize in closing the most difficult transactions, including many short sales. We also facilitate short sale training to interested agents and offices to better prepare realtors for the pitfalls and common errors made when preparing a seller and an offer for a short sale. Needless to say in the past year I have seen some realtors we have trained and work with excel at short sales while I have seen other agents drop the ball on short sales and do their customer a disservice. Education and experience are the key along with patience and persistence to get these deals closed.

07/08/2008 10:54 AM

by James Armstrong (Mercury Title Insurance)

I am wondering what classes you took. I took one in Orlando, one in Atlanta, One Mobile and One in Tallahassee and got nothing out of it. But I talked to two lawyers that do the filing for over 90% of the foreclosures in Alabama and Florida for the banks and they were very helpful of who to get in touch with. In fact they help me get 3 short sales through, my understanding is that FHA and Fmac will not do short sales at all even though they will ead you along as if they will only till the final paper work to foreclose is done. I was told it was because these loans are backed by the government and insured they the lenders do not lose on these anyway. But conventional and sub prime will short sale. We tried 52 last year with a success rate of only 19. But this year we have tried 31 with 28 so far. But we stopped trying goverment backed ones is the reason for the change.

07/11/2008 08:17 PM

by Charles Stallions Real Estate Services Inc

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