Mother & Daughter Blog: August 2009

Sellers are attracted to the good looking offers.  The good looking offers get accepted.  Take a good look at your offer before you submit it -- try to make it look good to the seller if you want the property.  Get that thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!

1. Large down payments

2. Conventional loans look better with those large down payments

3.  Cash offers - that are reasonable, (hint: low balls are ULGY to a seller...just so you know)!  ALso, cash offers that can do a quick close... but be reasonable and ask for at least 21 days (you don't have to use it, but it better than extension requests).

4.  30 day close (but be careful not just say 30 day and then take 45)! 

5.  Those full figured Earnest Money Deposits (2% and higher)

6.  Contingencies that less than 17 days

7.  Inspection 10 days or less - I mean get in there and get it inspected and keep the transaction moving!

8.  Back away from asking Seller to pay for inspections fees. This is something you need and want to do, why not pay for them yourself?

9.  OK and you should ask the seller to provide the Natural Hazard Report (NHD) that's $99 bucks or less.

10. OK to expect the seller to make the property; smoke detector and hot water heater compliance (strapped and installed).

11. Back away from asking the seller to pay for repairs (especially those that are not in the catagory of safety concerns).  Especially when the sale is an "as is" sale.

12.  Let the seller chose the escrow company

There are other attractives to the seller but this is a good start.  Get those 2 thumbs up!

Agent completed the hard part of the short sale: getting the property listed and aggressive marketing to obtain offers.  Submitted the offer to the homeowner/seller, did your report and included all the information and documents required plus your own twist to the presentation.  Now you fax it in or fed exp it or both... now what do you do?

The worst thing you can do is nothing but sit and wait for the bank to contact you.  here is what I suggest:

YOU HAVE PHONE USE IT!

1.  Call and make sure your request made it to the Short Sale department.  If it is did not - don't be shy... resend it!

2.  Give it about 1 week and then call to check again. 

3.  Once you get confirmation that they have the full packet.  You still do not get to just sit on it.

4.  Time it right and call back to get an update.  Don't be insulted if you do not get to talk to the short negotiator -- just speak with the customer service rep and ask them what is the status.  Ask if the negotiator has been assigned, if yes - get the name and try for email and direct line.  Get as much as you. Ask them to put a note in the file that you called and asked for status and confirmed that all documents were received.

5.  Can you sit now?  Nope, not for long.... call back and get another status and you keep doing this until you either get to talk to the negotiator or get an email or phone number and then follow up direct with that negotiator.

6.  Keep your eye on the trustee sale date ----> don't let it get by you!  Call and ask for a postpond date.  Be sure the customer service rep email the negotiator and ask for this date. It is not the negotiator's job to have your back on the sales date .... and they won't!

7.  Call back to be sure they have a new sale date set.

This is simple communication and basically it is as much as you can do until the bank is ready to talk or email converse with you.  But for the record, you have followed up.

Remember there are numerous pre-foreclosure properties with short sale requests -- so the banks have numerous files to deal with.

Short Sale Communication 101 - Communicate often!

Nothing new about getting low ball offers.  After all that is the nature of beast -- to get a deal - right?  But the big question here is what is right for the agent to do?  Should the agent treat this offer as an insult and not present it to the owner/seller and definitely not to the bank/lender?

Ethically speaking and procedure is to the present all offers.  Agents, we are not the judge and jury here... our job is obtain an offer and present it to the seller.  In the case of a short sale the seller is the owner.  If that owner decides they do not want to present that offer, that is their decision -- isn't it?

However, if that owner/seller signs the offer..... agent you are to present it.  Do it the same detail as you would of a higher offer.  After all it could turn out to help you know the following:

1.  where the bank is coming from as far as what they are looking for -- who knows they may just counter back - countering back has always helped me to see where the bank stands on approving the request.  So if it is still time, you go out and aggressively get another offer for the amount the bank has countered.  If you run out of time, well that is not good especially if you took the property off the market for this low ball offer.

** Make sure you keep up with the sales date and keep on accepting other offers.  If you get one that is higher than the low ball ------> send it in!  You may just get an acceptance.

In summary: Let the bank be the decider of what is too low for them to approve.  In my opinion, agent do not have the right to put offers in the round file!  Not your job.

This is for buyer agents - please tell your buyers how short sale are.  Ask them if they have the time to wait on the bank to decide if they are going to either approve, counter or deny a short sale request.  If they tell you they are looking for something with the next 30-60 days, advise them that a short sale just might be a little longer than that.  Now if it turns out that this bank works faster --- all should be happy. But do not assume this will be the case. 

Banks are taking and will tell you if you ask they are not getting to their short sale for 45 - 60 and sometimes over days.  Do not leave this information out and have the buyers waiting until they get tired and walk!  This is a set up for all invovled: the buyer, the agents and most of all the owners.

And that buyer should not assume that they can get extensions on a short sale!  Banks/sellers do not like extensions at any rate, but a short sale agreement will usually come with a clause that says they want their funds within 5 days of the scheduled close date.  Those 5 days are not free.... buyers will be charged!  And if the agreement does not close on schedule after those 5 days the agreement will be null and void.  Plus the bank will charge the buyer a per diem on the those 5 days!

Buyers stand a chance of losing their deposit if the transaction does not close.  Agents go over that short sale agreement with all parties involved.

(if this is not in Short Sale 101...... it should be!)