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Beware the Short Sale “Specialist!”
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short sales CAN be a beautiful thing..
I’ve been noticing more and more, how many real estate agents are now “Short Sale Specialists.” Hmmm…got me to thinking. What IS a specialist? For a person to specialize in anything, they must do that one thing over and over. This creates experience. Experience teaches us how to handle problems that may arise in our “specialty”. Not until a person has handled MANY transactions and the problems and issues associated with those transactions over a period of several years at minimum, may that person claim to be a “specialist.”
Here’s an example…two agents that work together. In 2011, they take some seminars that claim that “short sales will be the wave of the future in real estate.” Uh-huh. They get certified by a Short Sale Negotiation company, (about 3 hours of instruction about how to hand over your short sale listings to them and they’ll do ALL the work.) Now, they are ready! Two new Short Sale Specialists are born. No ads came out stating such..until they landed a Short Sale Listing and handed it to the Negotiation company, and it closed. Bam! Now, their print ads read, “Short Sale Specialists.” What????
To me this feels fraudulent. I believe we will be seeing law suits over these fraudulent claims in the future. Why not just start working Short Sales, gathering experience and being honest? If you as a Short Sale Seller, are considering listing your home as a Short Sale, I would suggest you find out how many Short Sales your Listing Agent has closed last year? How many years of working Short Sales do they have under their belt? What do they know about your particular Lender? Are they simply taking your listing, then handing it off to a Negotiation Company that the Buyer pays for, thereby reducing the net to your Lender? Do you want a 3rd party negotiation company in the mix, or would you rather have a List Agent that talks to you directly? Get some references from your List Agent. Find out how past clients feel about their experience.
I know that a Short Sale is personal to each person enduring it. I handle my files myself..personally. My Sellers are real human beings to me..not just a commission pay out. Short Sales are long, arduous and require constant nurturing. But..2012 will be my 5th year of Short Sale negotiating with many different Lenders, MI companies, IRS liens, personal lenders..it is a skill. Not one that can easily be labeled a “specialty” by just anyone that takes a couple classes.
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