Let me tell you, working with a bank on a short sale sucks.

There, I said it.

Whew, I feel better…but I am sure it won’t last long.

For the past three weeks, I have been trying to keep a deal together with a client of mine. We finally had an offer submitted and quickly sent it off to the bank. Unfortunately, it was the same week of Thanksgiving, and as you can imagine, the bank got nothing done.

  • First, we had to wait for the property to be assigned to a short sale rep in the loss mitigation department. (Some banks will not do this until an offer comes in). Sadly, this delays the process.
  • Next, we have to wait for a BPO (broker’s price opinion) to be completed on the home. It follows the line of a CMA (comparative market analysis) and falls short of an appraisal.
  • Once we here from the bank regarding the offer, two weeks after the initial submission, the short sale rep decides to counter offer, reducing the buyer’s requests and slashing the real estate commission. (Don’t get me started on that part)
  • Next we have to negotiate back to the bank and tell them the deal will walk out the door unless they give the buyer such and such for closing costs. Not too mention that if they try and make the seller sign a promissory note at closing, the owner will just let the property go into foreclosure and the bank will lose everything.

Now, I call the bank at least two times a day, trying to push the transaction along. Christmas is just weeks away and both parties want to be in and out before then. Today I find out I have to wait until end of the week for the final approval because some other person at the bank has to sign off on the deal. Geez!

Needless to say, but the whole thing has been more aggravating than I can put in words.

People say real estate agents don’t do anything and are not worth the money, but I tell you this, if you had any idea of the “behind the scenes” things we do to keep a deal from falling apart, you would change your mind. Someone once told me that real estate agents earn their money best, by keeping the deal out of trouble, and that when the deal does go south, buyers and sellers really see our true value. You can kind of equate it with insurance. You pay into it for years, and nothing happens. But finally when something does happen, you thank God for having the safety net there, even while the whole time, you didn’t think you needed it.

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2 Comments

  1. Minnesota First Time Home Buyers December 12, 2008 at 7:45 pm - Reply

    Short Sale = a lot of work for the agents and clients alike. I’ve done deals with both great short sale agents who are on the ball, and ones who haven’t got a clue.

    I agree with most of your points, and would add to any sellers or buyer thinking of taking part in a short sale deal: ask your agent how many short sales they’ve done. This is not a time to be playing around with banks and foreclosure eviction dates. Great post!

  2. Gated communities December 20, 2008 at 9:22 am - Reply

    Short sales are always very tedious tasks! things become even worse when things do not happen the way you plan, but once you finally get the deal all the hard work pays!

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