Author: Jenny Zamora

The Complete Short Sale Process From A to Z

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

Even after all these years, the short sale process remains a mystery to many people. Distressed sellers are puzzled and desperate for some guidance from a short-sale agent. Even more confusing… most real estate agents in Orlando don’t know how to do a short sale.

What’s a Short Sale?

A short sale is a situation that occurs when a mortgage lender agrees to accept a lesser amount than what’s owed on the outstanding mortgage balance. This situation benefits both the lender as well as the seller [homeowner] when foreclosure seems unavoidable.

By agreeing to a short sale, the lender can avoid a long drawn out and costly foreclosure process. Because even if the bank forecloses, there’s no guarantee that it will sell at the auction in which case the lender would end up back with the property as an REO [real estate owned] property. If the lender keeps the property, they will ultimately have to put it up for sale again, and there’s no telling how much they will get or how long it will take.

The dollar amount offered on a short sale is often more than a lender would receive at the auction or as an REO listing. However, you should know that banks are never thrilled about releasing mortgage obligations at huge discounts either.

The Seller

There are 2 main reasons why lenders grant short sales. First, the homeowner is going through a financial hardship and cannot continue paying the mortgage. Secondly, there isn’t enough equity in the property to pay off the mortgage and closing costs, taxes, etc. Both of these conditions must exist for a bank to approve a short sale.

A few examples of financial hardship may include loss of employment, reduction in income, divorce, medical condition, job transfer, bankruptcy, or even death.

Sellers must prepare a financial package so they can submit it to their lender. Every bank has a different short sale package but the basics are the same among all lenders.

The Short Sale Package

Following are the main components of a typical short sale package:

  • Authorization Letter: This is a document which allows your short sale agent to speak with your lender on your behalf.
  • Hardship Letter: A detailed letter describing the hardship the seller is going through explaining why they can no longer afford the mortgage.
  • Preliminary Closing Statement: Discloses the contract amount, realtor commissions, closing costs, taxes and any other fees involved with the transaction.
  • Financial Statement: A statement which discloses your income versus your expenses.
  • Two years of your tax returns
  • Two years W-2s
  • Last two bank statements
  • Two months of pay stubs
  • CMA: This is a report prepared by your short sale agent which lists recent sales of comparable homes in your area.

Submitting an offer to the Bank

Before submitting a short sale offer to the lender, buyers should ask their real estate agent for a list of comparable properties. The lender will look to get an offer that’s close to market value.

It’s important to keep in mind that the listing price on a short sale may not reflect the market value. The property will most likely be lower than market value to entice more buyers to make an offer. Most short sales begin when there’s a signed and accepted purchase offer by the seller and buyer.

Keep in mind that the short sale listing price might not reflect market value. The property might be priced below comparable sales to encourage multiple offers. Some short sales can begin before an offer but banks will most often start the procedure upon receipt of an accepted purchase offer.

Once the seller accepts the offer, the listing agent will then send the listing agreement, signed purchase offer, and proof of funds to the bank together with the completed short sale package.

If the package is incomplete, the lender won’t even process it. This is why it’s so important to have an experienced short-sale agent representing the seller.

The Short Sale Lender

Short sales are anything but short… buyers can end up waiting several months to get a response from a lender. The short sale listing agent must follow up with the bank regularly and keep detailed notes of each contact. Being a short sale agent in Orlando since 2004, I can tell you that following up regularly with the lender is crucial to the success of a short sale transaction.

I can’t tell you the number of times a buyer has decided to cancel their offer because of the bank taking too long to respond. This is especially true when the buyer needs to buy a house ASAP. For buyers wanting to close quickly, a short sale may not be the best option for them.

The Usual Process

Once the lender receives the completed Short Sale package, this is usually what takes place on the bank’s end:

  • The loss mitigation dept acknowledges receiving the completed package. This alone can take between 1 – 3 weeks.
  • A short sale processor is assigned to the file, this can also take up to a week or two.
  • A BPO aka [Broker’s Price Opinion] is ordered. The lender will contract a local realtor to give their opinion on what the property is worth. They do this by looking at the comparable properties in the area and are supposed consider any repairs the home may need.
  • Another short sale processor maybe assigned to the file. This can add another week or 2.
  • A second short sale processor might be assigned. This can take another 30 days.
  • The offer is either denied or accepted. If the offer is denied, the bank will counter with the amount they are willing to accept. At this point the buyer may wish to counter the bank’s offer together with a contractor’s estimate and a CMA.
  • Once the bank has accepted the offer, the lender will require all parties in the transaction to sign an arm’s length affidavit. This document states that parties are unrelated and acting their own best interest.
  • The lender will send out a short sale approval letter approving the contract amount.

While all this is going on, sometimes buyers will give up hope and cancel. They become tired of waiting because the short sale process is taking much longer than they expected. I’ve had situations with clients where buyers just walk on the deal without even telling their real estate agent.

I’ve had some Orlando short sales get approved in two weeks and others take more up to 6 months on average. A top short-sale realtor can help speed up this process, but at the end of the day, it’s all up to the lender. Some lenders are easier to work with than others.

It’s crucial that the short sale agent check-in with the short sale bank at least once or twice a week. Unfortunately, there are many incompetent short sale processors and the short sale agent may have to go over the processor’s head or request an “escalation”.

Final Thoughts

A good short sale listing agent will often have a good idea about when approval will come after the file has been sent for the bank’s final review. If so, the buyer would be wise to start the loan process if they haven’t already. Occasionally, banks will only give buyers 2 weeks to close so it’s important to be ready.

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How To Choose A Short Sale Agent in Florida

Posted on by Jenny Zamora


Your Success Depends on the Short Sale Agent You Choose

A quick word to the wise… pick your short sale agent very carefully. A short sale is way too complex of a transaction to trust a new agent with. And don’t make the mistake of just hiring the agent with the flashiest website either. When dealing with a short sale, you need a short sale specialist… an agent who specializes in short sales.

Back in 2006 when the market crashed and short sales were everywhere, a lot of agents decided to specialize in short sales. Real estate training companies made big profits by offering short-sale training to thousands of agents. However, there’s no way you can learn how to be a short sale agent in just 3 hours. Unfortunately, many homeowners fell victim to these newbie agents claiming to be short sale specialists resulting in a failed short sale transaction.

Now in 2020, short sales in Orlando are not as abundant and there are a lot fewer short sale agents. Many times I get referrals from other real estate agents in Orlando because they don’t want to deal with the extra work involved with processing a short sale.

Ask a Real Estate Agent to Refer You To a Short Sale Agent

If you have a friend or relative that’s a real estate agent, chances are they’ll be able to refer you to a good short-sale agent. Short sales require a lot more work than a traditional transaction which is why most agents avoid them and are happy to refer them to another agent.

How Experienced Should my Short Sale Agent Be?

There are realtors out there that have been in the industry for several decades and have a ton of experience. However, some real estate agents stay in the business for longer than they should. What I mean by that is… the real estate business changes constantly and if you have an agent that’s set in their ways of doing things and not willing to keep up with the changes, then you’re in trouble and you should probably find another agent.

When it comes to finding an experienced short sale agent, you need to verify how active they’ve been recent. Ask them to show you proof of recently closed short sale transactions and find out how many clients they’re currently working with. Sure, they must have been doing short sales for a long time but even more important is what have they done lately.

I’ve been a short sale agent in Orlando, FL since 2004 with thousands of closed short sale transactions and I can tell you that there have been a lot of changes in the way short sales were handled back then and now in 2020. From different incentive programs being offered by lenders to the Federal rules and regulations, everything will continue to change.

When choosing a short sale agent, here are a few questions you should ask:

  • How many years have you been a short sale agent? Your short sale agent should have a minimum of 3 years experience in selling short sales. There’s no better teacher than experience. Making mistakes and finding out things the hard way is a great way to learn and avoid making those mistakes on future short sale deals. If you’re able to find an agent with experience in real estate investing, even better.
  • How many short sale transactions have you closed? Just imagine the knowledge of a short sale agent that has closed over 1,000 short sale transactions. These are the elite short sale agents and they will know what each of the top lenders will require, how they operate and what to expect. They will also have short sale packages from every single bank on hand. These agents will more than likely have systems in place to help streamline the process while providing you with individual attention.
  • Do you foresee any problems with my short sale? An experienced short sale agent will know if there are any red flags to warn the seller about just by asking a few questions. Remember, a real estate agent is not allowed to give tax or legal advice. However, the agent should be familiar enough to point out some potential tax consequences, legal issues, etc. Your short sale agent should be able to refer you to a real estate attorney in needed.
  • Do you have any experience with my lender? A past deal doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the same response from a bank, but it can be a good indicator. Different banks have different processes and some are much tougher to negotiate with than others. Chances are that your short sale agent will have some experience with your lender, unless your lender is a private entity or investor. If you have a loan with a private investor, you may not get the answer you want but at least you’ll get a quick response.
  • Will you be processing my short sale? Make sure the agent you’re talking to is also the person processing your short sale. If an agent is too busy, they may pass your short sale off to a third party processors who may not even be licensed. Some people believe real estate attorneys are the best negotiators for handling short sales. This isn’t the case, I actually have several real estate attorneys referring there Orlando short sales to me. The difference is that an attorney will charge you whether the deal closes or not and a real estate agent only gets paid if the deal goes through.
  • How long do you expect it will take for my short sale to close? If you haven’t yet heard, short sales are anything but short. However, if your short sale agent has recently done some deals with your lender, they should have a pretty good idea how long everything will take.

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What Should You Look For In A Real Estate Agent?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora


Selling or buying a home can be challenging and will also be one of the biggest financial decisions of your lifetime. Finding the right real estate agent that has the experience for what you need is crucial.

Having a good real estate agent in your corner will is important whether you’re buying or selling. In the state of Florida alone there are almost 300,000 active real estate agents.

Everywhere you look there are advertisements for real estate agents; billboards, bus stop benches, radio ads, etc… So how do you choose the best one for you? Follow these steps on hiring the perfect real estate agent for your needs.

Tips On Finding A Real Estate Agent

Speak To A Lender Before Hiring An Agent

One of the biggest mistakes a potential home buyer makes is to start looking for homes without knowing how much they can afford to pay for a home. There’s nothing more disheartening to fall in love with a home only to find out that you can’t afford it.

By getting pre-approved for a mortgage, you’ll know exactly how much home you can afford as well as address any issues with your credit if needed well ahead of time. Having your pre-approval letter ready will also show potential buyers’ agents and sellers that you are serious about buying. When you’re in a competitive market, sellers may not even consider an offer without a pre-approval letter from a lender.

Get Recommendations

A good way to start on your agent search is by asking friends and family members if they can recommend a real estate agent they’ve had a good experience with. You should hire an agent that specializes in whatever your real estate goals are. For example; If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you should hire an agent that specializes in first-time homebuyers as opposed to an agent that works with investment properties or short sales.

It’s also a good idea to hire an agent who is a Realtor. This means they are a member of the National Association of Realtors aka [NAR] and are held to a higher standard as specified in the organization’s code of ethics. Many Realtors hold special certifications to demonstrate they’ve completed training in specific areas of real estate. These are some of the designations:

CDPE [Certified Distressed Property Expert]: Completed specialized training in short sales and foreclosure prevention. CRS [Certified Residential Specialist]: Completed special training in working with buyers of residential real estate. ABR [Accredited Buyer’s Representative]: Trained in representing buyers in transactions.
SRES [Seniors Real Estate Specialist]: trained in helping buyers and sellers aged 50 and over.

Research Potential Agents

Always begin with online research. Start by checking their website and any social media accounts they may have. You should be able to find reviews, current listing information and get an overall feel for the person through their online presence. If they have no online presence then move on to the next candidate.

Interview 3 Real Estate Agents… at Least

Remember, you’re going to be communicating with this person for the next several weeks or even months until you’ve accomplished your real estate goals. An “in-person” interview will be a chance for you to get a feel for the agent’s experience and style. You want to work with an agent who understands what you’re looking to accomplish and be very familiar with the area you’re buying or selling in.

This is also a chance for you to see firsthand how professional they are. The more effort they put into a presentation for you is a good indication of the effort they’ll put in when they’re working for you. Interviews are also a great way for you to establish a preferred way of communication moving forward whether it be texting email or phone calls.

Ask For References

When you’re interviewing potential real estate agents, request to see their references. Ask the agent to

provide the information on any homes they’ve recently sold [in the past year]. You should also ask them to provide the contact information from any of their recent clients. Be sure to call those clients and find out what their overall experience was with the agent…Ask them if they would work with the agent again.

Trust Your Gut

Once you’ve followed the tips on finding the best agent, you still might have to choose between 2 or 3 of them. At this point, you should go with your gut. Remember, you’ll be in constant communication with this person so you should feel comfortable around them and be able to tell them everything.

It’s kind of like dating… sometimes it comes down to the chemistry… or lack of chemistry. If you have an agent and everything checks out, but you’re still not feeling the vibe, don’t hire them. Keep looking until you find the right fit for you, it will be worth the extra effort.

Read The Contract Carefully

Your contract should spell out all the terms to which you have agreed… including the commission. Typically, the seller pays all of the commission which is usually about 5-6% to be split between the listing agent and buyer’s agent. You should also pay close attention to the length of the contract. If your home hasn’t sold in 6 months or you haven’t found a house to buy in that time, then you’ll probably want to find a new real estate agent.

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What’s the Difference Between a Real Estate Agent and a Broker?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora


Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re going to need some help. So the question becomes… Who should you hire? Unless you’re in the industry, It can be quite confusing to figure out the different types of real estate professionals and what the difference is. Real estate professionals go by a few different names such as real estate agent, real estate broker, and of course, Realtor. So what exactly is the difference between the three?

Many times these different titles are used interchangeably because most people don’t know the difference between them. However, there are some important differences between them as well as special requirements for using certain titles.

Following is a list of the most common real estate professional titles you will come across and what exactly they mean.

The Real Estate Agent

The real estate agent is a licensed professional who helps people to buy, sell and rent different types of real estate such as residential and commercial.

For them to get the license, the state requires the individual to complete pre-licensing training. Depending on the jurisdiction, the number of training hours required can vary quite a bit. In the state of Florida, for example, real estate agents have to take 63 hours of pre-licensing training and in California, applicants must complete 135 hours of pre-licensing training before they can test for their license.

Once the training has been completed, applicants must then take a state-issued written exam. In Florida for example, the real estate sale associate exam is a 100-question multiple-choice test. 45 of the questions are on real estate principles and practices, and another 45 questions cover Florida and Federal laws, the additional 10 questions require math calculations.

Once they’ve passed this exam, they can now call themselves a “real estate agent” and will most likely join a real estate brokerage where they can begin working with home buyers and sellers. New agents will also benefit tremendously from being around experienced agents.

The Real Estate Broker

A real estate broker is someone who has been a real estate agent for at least 2 years and has taken additional educational courses beyond the agent level as required by the state.

Pretty similar to a real estate agent’s exam, each state has its broker exam requirements and continued education. The additional requirements cover topics such as contracts, insurance, ethics, and taxes in a more in-depth level of understanding than what was taught to them as a new agent.

Brokers are also required to be knowledgeable about legal issues and how the law pertains to operating a brokerage, investing in real estate, new construction, and even property management. It’s because of this that brokers should have a more in-depth knowledge of the real estate business in their state.

To take the state broker’s exam and get a license, real estate agents must have at least 2 years of experience as a licensed agent under a licensed broker in the state of Florida.

Typically, there are 3 different types of real estate brokers and each one has a different role to play.

There are three types of real estate brokers, each with subtle differences in the role they perform:

The Principal Broker: is the person in an office that oversees all the other agents in that particular office. This person is also in charge of making sure that agents are complying and operating within state and national real estate law. The Principal broker mainly gets paid a cut of every commission of every agent in that office. Some brokers also receive an annual salary in addition to their commission.

The Broker Associate: This real estate professional aka affiliate broker possesses a broker’s license but is working under a managing broker. This agent is usually not responsible for overseeing other agents.

The Realtor: For a real estate agent to become a Realtor they need to become a member of the National Association of Realtors®. When you become a member, you are agreeing to uphold the standards of the Realtor Association as well as its code of ethics.

The NAR holds agents to a higher standard beyond what the state requires. Realtors also have access to valuable real estate market data as well as transaction management services and several other tools which can be extremely helpful in the real estate business.

The Listing Agent

The listing agent in a real estate transaction represents the seller and they are the ones that list the property. If you’re looking to sell your house, then you’d be wise to hire a listing agent, as they specialize in selling homes. They help in countless ways including pricing the home, home improvement advice, marketing, open houses, negotiating, scheduling showings, and closing.

Just like any other type of agent, listing agents don’t receive any money unless the home gets sold. When and if it sells, the typical real estate sales commission in Florida is between 5 and 6% [to be split between the listing agent and buyer’s agent]. Although, as I learned in my very first real estate class… “everything in real estate is negotiable”.

The Buyer’s Agent

Like it says in the title, buyer’s agents represent people who are buying a home. Like the listing agent, a buyer’s agent has a whole list of tasks to complete to ensure a successful home buying experience for their clients. Buyer’s agents can help with things like finding the right house, negotiations, recommending mortgage brokers or financial institutions.

Just like the listing agent, the buyer’s agent is dependent on the deal going through to get paid from the sale of the property. This is good news for the home buyer because it doesn’t cost them anything to hire a buyer’s agent.

Finding The Right Real Estate Professional For You

Most people start their search on Google, which is a good starting place. However, it’s also good practice to find an agent which specializes in the area where you are buying… or selling. Once you have a few potential candidates selected, meet with them in person, ask questions and check their online reviews. By doing this you’ll know if they’re a good fit for you moving forward.

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What Does A Real Estate Agent Do?

Posted on by Jenny Zamora


A Typical Day in the Life of a Real Estate Agent

Technically, as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, a real estate agent is someone whose business is to arrange the selling or buying of homes, vacant land, offices, or buildings for the sellers or buyers. Technically, it’s an accurate definition, however, it doesn’t tell you everything a real estate agent does on a day-to-day basis.

In my world as a Real Estate Broker, each day is different and unique; while this can seem to be an appealing aspect of being a real estate professional, it can be quite challenging, depending on the Realtor’s skill and experience level. So, exactly what does a Realtor do on a typical day?

Managing a Real Estate Brokerage

The majority of real estate agents [especially newbies] typically work inside an office provided by the broker that employs them. This is good in the sense that they can discuss opportunities and exchange ideas with their co-workers, get updates on new listings, as well as discuss buyers’ and sellers’ needs.

There are quite a few administrative tasks that occur every day at the core of a successful real estate brokerage. Depending on the size of the brokerage they may have someone who works as an administrator to make sure an office is a well-oiled machine.

A good Realtor

  • Stays current on local and regional market activity and industry news.
  • Consistently researches active, pending, and sold listings in their farm area.
  • Maintains, completes, submits, and files any paperwork, such as real estate contracts, records, etc. with the proper agencies.
  • Coordinates and schedules appointments, showings, open houses, and any meetings with clients and other agents.
  • Develops and implements marketing plans for listings and creates marketing materials like fliers and other promotional materials.
  • Responds to incoming emails and phone calls
  • Keeps their website updated with fresh content and is active on social media and real estate blogs.

Most successful real estate agents hire an assistant to assist with the day-to-day activities, allowing the agent or broker to focus on more important activities.

Real Estate Agents Sell Themselves In Addition To Selling Homes

Being able to consistently attract new clients is crucial to the success of a real estate agent. Below are a few ways a real estate agent can attract new clients:

Marketing Themselves. Competition is fierce in the world of real estate. A successful agent should have a niche in their local real estate market and become an expert in that niche. This helps differentiate agents out there and what they specialize in. A successful real estate agent has a monthly budget set for marketing themselves through their website, fliers, video, and pay-per-click advertising.

Generating Leads. Generating leads via networking with other real estate agents as well as anyone else they come in contact with such as friends, family, business associates, and so on is an extremely valuable asset to a successful Realtor.

Treating Everyone as a Prospect. Everyone lives in a home, condo, townhouse, or apartment. Therefore, to a real estate agent, anyone they meet will eventually need to buy, sell or rent a home. A real estate agent spends a substantial amount of time cultivating leads and meeting with potential buyers and sellers.

Listing Agents

Listing agents specialize in working with homeowners who need to sell their homes. They have a responsibility to understand the needs of a seller with every new listing.

They must demonstrate to the homeowner their knowledge, marketing abilities, and negotiation skills. A successful listing agent must be an expert at researching the current market activity and comparable properties to determine an accurate listing price for your property. Here are some of the responsibilities of a listing agent.

  • Staging The Home: It’s the agent’s responsibility to advise the seller on tips to make sure the home shows off it’s best features during showings. A bit of de-cluttering and some touch up paint can go a long way in making a home look its best. Depending on the situation, you may want to have the home fully staged prior to listing it.
  • Take Quality Photographs: The listing agent is required to take [or hire somebody to take] quality photos inside and out in order to prepare a proper listing presentation and advertising materials. In addition.
  • Pre-screening and Negotiating With Potential Buyers: Your listing agent is in charge of making sure potential buyers are pre-qualified before showing the house. Once you have secured a qualified buyer the agent will be in charge of helping negotiate the best price.

Buyers Agents

Buyers agents are real estate agents that specialize in working with buyers. Their responsibilities include meeting with potential buyers to determine what their real estate needs are as well as to help them get pre-qualified for a mortgage if needed.

Once the agent knows exactly what the potential buyer is looking for, they will alert the buyer as soon as a property meeting their needs hits the market and schedule a showing.

Another option that agents utilize to narrow down a search for a buyer or to perform research on the competition for sellers is the MLS tour. This allows agents and brokers to quickly gather first-hand knowledge on several available properties in the local market.

Developing Your Skills
Although continuing education is a requirement to maintain a real estate license, it is also an opportunity to develop the skills that will keep an agent at the top of their game or open a door to new real estate opportunities within the regional or local market. Continual development is crucial to the long-term success of real estate agents and brokers. Continuing education not only widens their scope of expertise, but also improves their proficiency, knowledge, and marketability as real estate professionals.

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