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"I'm Jennifer & I'm a Short Sale Idiot" ... are you?

Okay, I can admit it. I don't know much about short sales. I know more than I did six months frustrate ago because I listed one (that never sold even though I had an offer) and I wrote an offer on a short sale a few weeks ago (to which the agent hasn't responded - sheesh).

In the Good Old Days, I proudly proclaimed that I had enough business (thank you very much) and had no need to involve myself with short sales or other such nonsense. So by gawd, I wasn't going to learn anything ‘bout ‘em.

Uh, well, today is somewhat different. If you don't understand short sales, you're not really a full-service real estate agent. It's not the same thing as, say, not understanding land sales or commercial leasing as a residential real estate agent - no, the dreaded short sale is an integral part of a residential real estate business these days, like it or not. (darnit!)

Of course, there are those who say that short sales are a waste of time and have a small chance of success. And that may be true. But it doesn't mean that you shouldn't understand them and be able to make that decision for yourself... or commit to yourself to becoming the expert and getting your short sale buyers & sellers to closing!

janie With that in mind, I've invited one of my favorite Active Rainers to share her secrets for selling & closing shorts sales. Following up on the phenomenal success of last weekend's "Persuasive CMA" teleseminar, on Saturday March 7^th, we'll have another teleseminar workshop where Janie Coffey will join me (and all of y'all) to tell her story and answer our questions about short sales.

Here are some questions I'm expecting answers to:

... who pays the commission and how much?

... what if there is more than one loan?

... how do I know if the SELLER will qualify?

... does the seller have to be behind in their mortgage?

... do you/should you/can you accept more than one offer?

... how should you price the home?

I'll probably come up with a dozen more, but what are YOUR questions about the process? Any horror (or success) stories you'd like to share? Please do!

To register for the workshop, click here to be whisked away to the registration page...

See you on the 7th!

UPDATE!!!! Janie's got a gu......est.... Fellow Floridian Broker Bryant will be joining Janie on this conference to contribute his short sale strategies - is this a power conference or WHAT???

sws

www.SellwithSoul.com

p.s. Wanna see me on TV? This just ran last night here in Denver... http://cbs4denver.com/recession/home.staging.sales.2.932147.html

Posted by Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn, Author of Sell with Soul on 02/11/2009 06:37 AM

Comments (24)

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Originally posted at: Selling Soulfully with Jennifer Allan: "I'm Jennifer & I'm a Short Sale Idiot" ... are you?

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24 Comments on "I'm Jennifer & I'm a Short Sale Idiot" ... are you?

FEB

2009

When I think "short sale expert" I think Katerina Gasset, but I don't know Janie. Always glad to learn more on this important topic.

Jennifer there is no doubt that selling short-sales is quite a fiasco . . .but I have gotten pretty good at it! I would like to offer a little piece of advice. Begin your journey on each short sale by keeping meticulous notes. Every time you talk to the bank, note what you talked about. Most importantly, write down who you talked to (get a first name and last initial or get the extension number), what phone number you called, get the name of the department they are in, and the phone numbers they are telling you to fax things to. Write everything down. When the banks say, "who told you that", you will have the answer.

The questions you have are essential to understand if you are to represent a buyer or seller in any short sale, pre-foreclosure or other distressed situation. If you can't answer these basic questions, don't dip your toes into the short sale arena!

I have 4 of them right now...two took 7 months to get approved and then the buyers weren't correctly qualified by their agent and MB...a bunch of liars who can't seem to do their jobs right. You have to have a lot of patience and a steel stomach. I'd still rather be on the listing end.

Know what you don't know...if you haven't taken the training, can't answer the questions, you and any other realtor who "does them" but doesn't ever close them, contribute to the housing crisis...be part of the solution...refer what you don't know.

I don't know much about them either, and I'm anxious to find out more about them since so many need assistance with these.

Jennifer,

Excellent, not only are you willing to learn something you do not know, you have made arrangements for others to learn with you. Short Sales can be a big part of market inventory. Realtors need to cover all the bases, or we are not performing our full duties.

Judy

I couldn't stomach doing short sales or foreclosures (there's something about making money off of another's misfortune that doesn't sit well with me in a karma kind of way). I know that may seem silly to some agents out there because you are after all being paid for the work you do, but it simply wasn't worth it to me on many levels. I also knew that success as an agent in this market in many ways depends on the willingness and ability to master short sales and foreclosures. It was one of the many factors that contributed to my decision to leave the business, quite honestly.

Kelly - I think that's a great question for Janie to address! Sorry you left the business and I totally understand that, but I appreciate your stopping by!

Judy- will we see you at the conference?

Ann - cool- we can learn together!

Sally & David - Always a good philosophy...

Neal - are you finding them getting any easier?

Great news video... paints a picture of a "trusted advisors!" G

It is important to know how to deal with the short sale.. the extra pain work involved to save a home from foreclosure is worth it... Can you imagine your farm area with vacant houses .. Much better to avoid the foreclosure and help your sellers out with a short sale... better for the neighborhood, better for everyone!

Hi Kelly,

As a listing agent, a selling agent and a SELLER of my own personal short sale, I can tell you for sure, at the point when you are negotiating (and closing) a short sale, the seller very likely sees you as their savior (if you do a good job) not profitting from their misfortune. You are saving them from foreclosure and helping them get on with their lives with some level of dignity and self-respect still intact. You did not contribute to them getting into the situation (we don't know what happened - each case is different) but you CAN help them get out of it, even if a short sale is the lesser of two evils. Remember, the sales professional has an opportunity to be part of the SOLUTION. On the other hand, I have seen sales agents do a HORRIBLE job which resulted in avoidable foreclosure (much worse impact to the seller) when a good educated agent could have saved them from that. While it can be uncomfortable, especially when they slip from being able to sell and have equity or "break-even" into short sale, territory, if you work with them and do the best you can, know you are helping them, not taking advantage. I know for sure that dealing in short sales, every single one of our SELLERS was more happy in the end than our regular sellers. I guess without having been there, it is hard to understand the relief they feel.

With kind regards

Janie

Jennifer I would agree that in this market if you don't know how to do Short Sales then you better learn how. It is part of the market today. But I would disagree with those who say that they have very little chance of success. They may take FOREVER but all of the ones that I have done loans for have Closed.

It sounds like it will be an interesting workshop! In this market, agents don't have much of a choice but to learn how to work with short sales. They can be a pain but are worth it if they close!

Thanks for setting this up, I missed your last webinar. Looking forward to this, I do short sales, but you can always learn something new.

Jennifer, if agents in Florida don't learn how to do short sales they will have nothing to sell. Well I guess they could sell REOs but those are proving to be pretty difficult as well. I much prefer a short sale and the banks are starting to get better at it. I'm lookng forward to listening to Janie. She an excellent choice.

Even in the DC metro area, most of the properties I sell are short sales or foreclosures. It makes it hard for the sellers who aren't up against the wall. Some buyers just aren't interested in something that isn't a short sale or a foreclosure - they need that nomenclature to feel assured that they are getting a deal. Even if the regular non-short sale listing is priced the same, the short sale may get more attention from buyers right now.

FEB

2009

Yes there are a few horror story's on the few I have dealt with. The lenders don't care and the attorneys care even less.

Is a great idea as the short sale market offers another niche for every Realtor. We are proud in the fact that every short sale we have taken on this year as listings have ALL sold and went to settlement. It is not a large part of our business but it added significant income to us in 2008 and has given us some extra exposure in this niche market as well.

You know what you are just a bit off. You should almost ne saying I am an idiot for getting involved in short sales to begin with .

FEB

2009

Hey guys! Broker Bryant decided to join our little Short Sale party!!!!! The more the merrier!!

FEB

2009

Jennifer missed your other seminar but I am looking forward to the short sales information on March 7th.

MAR

2009

The Short Sale business is where the market is, wether we like it or not. So if you want to stay in business, understanding how to work in this arena is going to be very important. Yes these sales are harder, yes these come from others misfortune and yes I am going to continue to work this market.

By the end of a short sale transaction you will have helped your client - the seller avoiding foreclosure - the buyer getting a fair deal on a home. And we as agents will have truly earned our commission because these are a lot of work.

Want to be a great agent to your client? Learn everything you can about the Short Sale process - and work hard!!

I personally love the challange of these!

Jennifer: Sounds like it will be interesting party with valuable information. I am heading to your site to register. I hope it will have instructions on how to view the teleseminar!

Liked your news broadcast. The home looked very cozy once Denver Staging finished the job. Best of luck on selling. Keep us posted.

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Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn, Author of Sell with Soul

Pensacola Beach, FL

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