I had two agents call me yesterday wanting to show a couple of my team's Atlanta area short sale listings. Both immediately had negative things to say and refused to show as soon as they found that they are short sales.
I believe in full disclosure, transparency, and setting propert expectations from the start. So, we have all agents call before showing. We let them know exactly where we sit in the process, our team's short sale track record, and any lender specific time-lines we know to expect. We also share the comparables and property condition information used to establish the list price. We do all of that so that everyone is fully prepared for the process - no questions! It is necessary to weed out and screen buyers that will not perform, or will not be able to stick with it.
For these two listings: The list price for both properties has been set with full comparable evidential support (no playing games in our office), the lenders are in agreement to consider short sale offers, and the homeowners are willing and ready to do whatever is needed to ge the process rolling. Buyers have an opportunity to get a property for a great price should the Sellers accept and the lien holders approve.
Now I would understand if a Selling Agent refuses to show a short sale for a legitamite reason: the buyer has to move right away, the buyer is re-locating and needs to lock in a closing date, the buyer wants to lock-in an interest rate that will expire in 30 days if they don't close........ Hey, those are real reasons not to put in an offer on a short sale. Yes, short sales can take longer than a standard transaction and there are other risks associated. BUT, the reasons these agents wouldn't show these short sale listings stemmed purely from a personal hatred of the short sale process. Their buyers didn't care about time-lines, but their agents did!
In this market - you cannot avoid short sales entirely or you are preventing your buyers from seeing what could be a great deal that they may be willing to wait for. Not all short sales take a long time - especially if they are listed by an agent or a team that specialized in the short sale process. Our team has a 90% closing rate which is 70% better and 50% faster than the national average. We will work hard to get the short sale approved for buyers. By doing that - I am creating a WIN-WIN for everyone. The homeowner in distress gets out of a bad situation, the buyer gets a deal, the neighborhood avoids another vacant low-priced foreclosure.
We hear every objection you can think of - and sadly many of them are from the agents entirely: I need a closing right away, I need the money and I don't want to wait for months for a commission, I don't want to give up any commission (some is better than none), I only show perfect houses so the deal won't fall apart later,......I've heard it all.
So for you agents that avoid short sale listings, let me give you a few reasons to do it anyway: Short sales can be a great opportunity to get a home for a great price, are generally in much better condition then a vacant foreclosure, sometimes have proactive owners that will still offer repairs and home warranties......AND lenders are becoming more and more open to allowing FULL "standard" commissions, 3% seller concessions, repair allowances, and are even allowing the Seller to pay additional closing costs....You would be surprised! Just be sure the listing agent is good at the process or suggest that the listing agent work with a loss mitigation team that is.
More agents need to open up to the idea of short sales. Nearly 60% of all closed transactions this year will involve some type of negotiated purchase. Short sales cannot be avoided.
If you are a listing agent comiserating with me now - I would love to know what you think about the new short sale web-based program MANAGE MY SHORT SALE. It was designed to help more of us take the market by the horns and make short sales systemized and more profitable.
Thank you for letting me complain - Please share your short sale tales.
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