A home seller in Land Park asked me yesterday what I have learned in my life's journey thus far. That was an odd question. It was a question that can't be answered in one sentence. Well, I suppose I could have said: We're all gonna die. Or, that nothing matters half as much 5 years from now as you think it matters today. Or, even we all create our own reality. Which we do. We're 100% responsible for how we feel and think. If you're miserable, it's your own damn fault.
Instead I said I've learned to say NO without providing reasons to justify. Because NO is a powerful word all by its itty bitty self. It offends some people. Some people think NO is rude. There is nothing rude about NO. See, that's the thing. NO is perfectly innocent. It's harmless. You don't even have to say, "sorry" NO. Just say NO. And I am not a fan of Reagan.
Sometimes you don't want to say NO, though, because you're concerned about the consequences. Circumstances are not always black and white, sometimes they are gray, a cat-and-mouse game, especially in a short sale. It's hard to know who to trust. We don't trust the banks, that's a given. The banks don't trust us. So, right there you've got some adversity happening in a short sale.
As a Sacramento short sale agent, my fiduciary relationship lies with the seller. I remind myself every day that I can't do anything that could cause harm to the seller. I must put the sellers' interests above my own. This means when a negotiator says I must personally cover a HUD deficiency or otherwise provide for a demand, I have to look at that situation seriously and determine whether I want to pitch in to make the transaction work.
If I don't, the deal could go to foreclosure. If I do, I'm setting a precedent.
Everybody lies. Especially negotiators. It's part of the job description. That's something I've picked up from Dr. House, if you want to know the truth. Journalists know that, too. When questioning a person about a conflicting statement, a journalist will think: "Were you lying then or are you lying now?"
Earlier this week I had a demand from a negotiator to pay extra toward a junior lien. The demand for payment was above and beyond a previous approval letter payoff. The threat was pay it or we'll close the file. The first lender did not want to pay it but then eventually backed down and agreed to it. I kept that bit of information to myself for the time being. Because, in the middle of everything, the buyer canceled. Ya gotta love that, not. Now, with nothing to lose, I could go back to the junior lender and say: Suck it up, buster, no deal. The answer is no. We won't pay the extra money. Just to see what would happen. I'm such a troublemaker.
Would you like to know what happened? The junior lender closed the file. There's my answer. And now you know, too.
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