Last week we were contacted by an absentee owner looking for a realtor in our area with a buyer for their bank approved short sale. The property is a beautiful townhouse located in one of Sebring's most prestigeous communities, The Sebring Country Club.
Upon speaking with the owners, residing in the Ft. Lauderdale area, we learned that they had hired a Ft. Lauderdale agent to list, market and sell the property. Also involved was a Ft. Lauderdale paralegal to negotiate the sale with the lender. The Ft. Lauderdale agent had found a buyer for the town house. There is no doubt in my mind that both the agent and the paralegal are highly regarded professionals even though the bank didn't approve the offer and the buyer ended up walking and purchasing townhouse. Sometimes things just don't work out, right?
We work with a local paralegal and closing agent to negotiate all our short sales and so far 100% of our short sale transactions have closed successfully.
Here's why using local professionals is always your best bet:
1. A local agent knows his local market. He or she will be able to defend the listing price with carefully selected comparables.
2. A local agent knows local buyers. He or she will be able to substitute a local buyer with another local buyer.
3. A local agent knows his fellow local agents. If he or she can't find a substitute local buyer, he or she will know which fellow agent has a local substitute buyer.
4. A local agent will likely have a trustworthy working relationship established with a local paralegal.
5. A local paralegal will have access to the local MLS to pull comps, listing history and whatever information the lender might require in order to approve a sale.
6. A local paralegal and closing agent will be able to close the transaction in the county where the property is located.
Legally, we are licensed to sell real estate in the State of Florida. This literally means we can list and sell property in Miami even though we are located in Sebring, about 2 hours northwest of Miami. Practically, is this a good idea? Probably not! We have no knowledge of the Miami real estate market. We are not familiar with local customs, we are not familiar with the local agents and other real estate related professionals. We also do not have the time and financial resourses to travel back and forth to Miami to service the listing.
We live in Highlands County. We know our market, we know our fellow agents and we know how to list and sell real estate in our area.
If you own property in Highlands County, consult local professionals!
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