I’ve heard it happen so many times, that a very good and well-respected agent was hired by the seller to short sell their home. The problem is that this agent was horrible at working with short sales and knew it!
This particular story made me very upset when I heard it. It was actually what we “short sale agents” refer to as a slam dunk… meaning a very easy deal as far as short sales are concerned.
It was a young couple that made a bad investment and they were now needing to complete a short sale on their home. The lender was SPS and there was only one lien to deal with. Short sale agents are accustomed to working deals with two to three liens sometimes. [as I said…this deal was a slam dunk!]
The couple researched top agents in Orlando and decided on a couple to interview. The problem was that they failed to include the keyword “short sale” in their search.
To make things worse, the agent accepted the listing anyway! Well, it wasn’t long after taking the short sale listing that the realtor realized she was way over her head. She had never experienced being bombarded by paperwork and other items that need to be addressed when completing a short sale.
Agents who aren’t used to the essential hardships of working with short sales will eventually start to flounder and give up… which is exactly what happened here.
By the time the sellers realized that the Orlando realtor they hired was completely lost on how to get a short sale approved, it was too late! The auction date was too close and the property was sold to the highest bidder. Now the sellers lost their home to foreclosure, still owe the bank a lot of money and they would’ve been eligible to get up to $10,000 back at the closing for relocation assistance if the property closed.
All of this happened because the agent thought they could easily do a short sale even though they’ve never done one before!
Attention Orlando Real Estate Agents!
Don’t accept a short sale listing, unless you know what you’re doing! It’s not OK to play with someone’s biggest investment and potentially their biggest loss. Short selling a home for someone is serious business and if you’re not experienced at doing short sales, at least be honest about it. Sellers should be allowed to make decisions about what realtors they choose to short sale their homes based on facts, not fiction.
As real estate agents, we all have our strengths and skills and it’s important for both you as an agent as well as a potential client to know what they are. If you find yourself struggling with a short sale listing in Orlando and don’t know how to proceed, give me a call at 407-902-7750. I’ll be glad to help you out!
As Orlando real estate agents, we took an oath to do what was in the best interest of our clients. Sometimes that can mean stepping aside and letting the experts handle it.
