Apparently I unintentionally offended my friend Andrew Monaghan with one of my previous blog posts:
REO or Short Sales - What's YOUR area of expertise?
In what I thought was a friendly, spirited debate, his response to my response to his comments was to remove his comments and advise that he would not be doing so again. Not the response I was expecting!!
He subsequently wrote an excellent blog post regarding Short Sales and the need for caution when selecting a Short Sale listing agent. Here is a link to it, and I will reblog it after this post.
Short Sale listing agents
I commented on his blog as follows:
Wow - I haven't come across those derogatory posts but will certainly look for them! What I have seen is a couple of REO agents (that does not include you) attempting to tout REO production as making them inherently qualified to do Short Sales!
I absolutely agree with you on the need for training. There are many certification programs out there, and I've been through most of them. Mostly what I took away was validation of what we were already doing, but there's always a "nugget" to be found!
The only difference in a Short Sale is the Sellers Lender Approval process - but it's that the HUGE difference that makes or breaks the deal and it's totally dependent on the experience and skill set of the Listing Agent negotiating with the Sellers Lenders. When does a file need to be escalated? Who should it be escalated to? Can you reach out to that person? And many other nuances, such as, how do you negotiate with a Seller's Lender to pay $5,000 to the IRS for a Sellers IRS Tax Lien that would otherwise blow the deal? We've had to deal with those situations, and many more. Every Short Sale has it's own nuances, as any Short Sale listing agent with experience will confirm.
Doing Short Sales correctly SHOULD result in a 100% list to close ratio, however, I agree it's key to verify the track record Short Sale Agents claim.
How many Short Sales have they closed?
What's their List to Close Ratio?
Can they provide past Short Sale client testimonials?
The Short Sale Seller gets one shot at it - or goes to foreclosure. I agree it's critical to qualify the Short Sale listing agent. Agents touting impressive track records that have to do with other specialties such as Property Management, Commercial, or even REO need to set that aside when it comes to Short Sales. They are excellent in their area of specialty, but absent the education and experience in the Short Sale arena, are they really helping homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure?
Andrew is both well known and well respected as a very successful REO agent in the Phoenix Arizona market, and I don't for a moment include him in the group of REO agents who are now attempting to sell the public on the false premise that REO production equals ability in the Short Sale arena, nor did my post indicate that I thought he was. I have unfortunately seen at least 2 other prominent REO agents attempt this "maneuver" as part of their plan to move from REOs to Short Sales, which are as much alike as chalk and cheese.
However - the written word leaves much room for misunderstanding sometimes, and I guess this was one of those times.
Andrew, you have my sincere apologies for any offense given, it was totally unintentional. I know that as you start moving into Short Sales you will ensure that you have the skilled resources in place to make sure of the best possible outcome for your Short Sale Listing Sellers.
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