I am attempting to phase myself out of the primary role for our company's short sale transactions so that I can concentrate on other areas of our business that have been neglected like marketing campaigns, structural organization, phone systems, client communications, the books, etc.. I have one of the best office managers that a person could hope for. She has participated in our short sales over the past couple of months and is ready to take them on full time. I know her well enough to be certain that she is fully capable of it.

Short sales are not something that can just handed over to a person with a strong real estate background with the automatic expectation of success. In fact, we handle our short sale listings entirely different than traditional listings. Anyway, a good real estate agent does not always a good short sale negotiator make.

It dawned on me while I was putting this together for our office manager, who is also an experienced Realtor, that others may be able to benefit from it.

Time Line:

Beginning January 19th, Office manager / short sale negotiator will handle bank communications and follow up to the point of final loss mitigation negotiation.

Beginning February 9th, Short sale negotiator / office manager will handle agent communications and bank negotiations. I will continue client education and discussions, review files and be available as needed.

Beginning March 1st, Short sale negotiator is up and running 100% from beginning to end. This includes initial calls, evaluation of client options, evaluation of client personality and expectations, decision to accept new clients, collection and organization of initial short sale package documents, plan for listing timing and pricing strategies, analysis of offers, negotiations with buyer agents calling in, initial contact and follow up with banks, selection of offer to submit first, review of prelim HUD to send with offer considering things like back taxes - HOA dues – liens - prepayment penalties, review of short sale package, bank negotiations, selection of offer to actually work based on knowledge and attitude of buyers agent – evaluation of patience and financial position of buyer – likelihood of loan actually closing, analysis of approval letter and most important – what is best for the client, management of repairs and utilities, follow up with denied offers keeping them in the wings as long as possible and finally, all the other stuff related to closing and funding. Of course I will be available, but certainly not looking over everything unless asked. (Sorry for the run on and on and on sentence.)

Short Sale Listing Status:

1. Sparks Lane in Frisco – Late Stage – I will complete 100%, including you in everything possible.
2. Reed Drive in The Colony – Late Stage – I will complete 100%, including you in everything possible.
3. Veneto Drive in Frisco – Early Stage – See time line.
4. Nueces Drive in Allen – Early Stage – I will be closely involved.
5. Indian Knoll Drive in McKinney – Early Stage – See timeline.
6. Wildwood Drive in Anna – Early Stage – See time line.
7. Bishop Road in Allen – Early Stage – See time line.
8. Brazoria Drive in Allen – Early Stage – See time line.
9. Creek Meadow Drive in Dallas, TX – Early Stage – Unique situation. We’ll see.

I also provide short sale training for agents so this is not entirely new to me. I know how to coach agents through the learning process and help them when they hit a wall. However, when you are turning your own personal business and livelihood over to someone else, it’s a bit tough for control freaks like me. Those little nuances and insider tips that are shared with students are certainly my concern. However, because the homeowner is not my client, my mortgage payment is not dependent upon their execution of my advice. It hadn’t dawn on me until completing that long run on sentence for our office manager why I am having difficulty turning over responsibilities. She was frustrated with me earlier today for changing the order of a short sale package. I was then frustrated with myself for frustrating her. I’ve always gone with my gut instincts and memories of past mistakes when making these decisions and unfortunately, that isn’t something you can simply nail down to an action plan for someone else. Anyway, these are my struggles. What are yours?

If you are interested in learning more about all the little short sale tips and tricks that they don’t teach in school, please send me an email or comment on the post.

Regards,
Brad Brusenhan
Follow me on Twitter @ ShortSaleGuy