Short sales, what the heck? I hear so many agents complaining about how bad short sales are and that they want nothing to do with them. Well, I am here to say stop your whining. You have to adapt to change. This market is the only one we have and if you refuse to learn short sales and REO's then you have just given up 50% of your potential business. I currently have 7 short sale homes in contract and a handful or REO's. I closed a short sale last month that the seller never missed any payments, was approved in 2 weeks, and the sellers closed on a new home in CO a week later.(no kidding!) On the other hand I just had one approved today that took me 8 months(wells fargo). The fact is that they do close. There is a process to short sales and if you follow it then you will have success. You absolutely must have all the pieces put together properly. Make sure you collect the full short sale package from your sellers BEFORE you even put the home on the market. Call the bank and get the loss mitigation or short sale department fax number. Fax the complete package ASAP. DON'T WAIT FOR AN OFFER! This will get the file started while you list the property and wait for offers. Doing this can easily cut weeks off the waiting period. Some banks will even order the BPO's if you do this. I always put an extra page in the package requesting that they do. Call every 3-5 days and make sure the bank recieved the full package. I also send the initial fax mutiple times just to make sure. I would love to hear others tips and strategies. What is working for you? I would love to see a blog on specific banks short sale heirarachy.
Derek,
Thanks for the article, I have just started aiming for the short sale market. Do you have any tips for entering it. Also what is the complete short sale packet? Thanks for these tips.
Kudos to you if you're handling the complete process. We've got lots of short sales and foreclosures here in Miami. We partnered up with a Title Company to handle all of the negotiations on our behalf. This way we could focus on listings and marketing. We've had lots of success. I was one that didn't get involved in short sales until 4 or 5 months ago. I have 7 or 8 short sale listings now with offers in the pipeline on 2 properties and offers soon to come on another 2. If it wasn't for short sales I'd be twiddling my thumbs.
Hey Guy. Great to see a fellow agent in WI. I grew up in Horicon and went to school at Carroll College in Milwaukee! One my my high school classmates works for Keller(Jenny Mieske)
Here is the short sale package you need:
2 months bank statements
2 months pay stubs
2 Years Taxes or past year P&L for self employed
A financial Worksheet(Just google for one)
Hardship Letter
Authrization letter for you
HUD-1(if you have an offer)
Contract & Addendums
BPO( I always include my own)
BPO Request sheet with you name as the contact
I just got my second short sale listing, and I have an appointment with a debter who has a home, a business and 10 acres of land that he needs to get rid of before they go into foreclosure. I am looking forward to dealing with bank. Thank you for this post.
Derek,
Back again, here is my tip for you. but don't tell everyone!!!
I was pursuaded by presentations at Mega agent camp to pursue short sales more. I also liked the tips I heard there, including upping your commission on the Hud and adding a negotiating fee!!
I pursue both short sales and REO's. My take is that short sales are much more profitable and less hassle. With my REO's I have to pay expenses, perform BPO's, trashouts, rekeys, etc. Plus I have to put referral fees to the asset management companies.
Short sales are great because you still grow you database and help another personal client. The referrals are tremendous and the sellers love you for helping them in a difficult and personal situation. They are also potentially more profitable because there is less overhead and if you are a good negotiator you can get your full commision
I always start at 8% and go from there. I also just started added a loss mitigation fee but have not had any success in getting it approved yet. The bank is going to slash any cost they can.
Derek, we are crossing paths. Yes good old Wisconsin. Yes I know Jen, however she is part timing right now and in the catering business too. I do hope she gets back in soon.
Thanks for the list. I know I have some of this stuff in the office. I was not paying attention when we had classes earlier in the year.
Regards,
Guy
My advice is dont go into short sales half hearted. Do it right from the start and give it full attention. Otherwise you will end up another bitter agent who's short sales get declined. The succces comes in the details and persistance to follow it through. Become the banks worst nightmare. I basically want them to want me to go away :). If the offer makes sense and you firmly believe it is in the banks best interest to accept it then take it up the chain until someone finally approves it.
Hi and welcome to active|rain. There are thousands of tips, tools, and tricks of the trade here. Be sure to check them out. Best of luck and see you around.
Welcome to ActiveRain!
If you would like a few tips on getting the most out of ActiveRain, please visit my blog Welcome to Active Rain. It has a few simple steps of what to do now that you have joined.
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Troy Trumm
Hi Derek, Welcome to AR, Be a Blogholic and start writing your own blog soon on AR. All the best for your RE business. This is the right place for customers, friends, realtionships etc.
Best - Sash
PS: FREE blog traffic strategy video...Hope this will help you... click here
Welcome to Active Rain and congrats on your first post. Be sure to spend some time looking around at what and how others are blogging here. It is a great education and lots of fun. Looks like you're off to a great start...keep it up!
Hi and welcome to Active Rain, a great site to network, share, learn and have fun.
Good Luck...
I'm with you if you aren't going to adapt and learn short sales then you might as well leave the business until the market turns around, because they are going to be here for awhile.
By the way, welcome to the rain.
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