Scott Barr soldbybarr.com

• • Oh no, we received an offer, now what? I can remember not too, too long along when I received my first offer on my first listing. Oh no, we received an offer, now what?
• Call the bank and inform them that you are trying to sell your client's house and that the market value is less than what is owed therefore it is being sold short of what is owed. (Please note that this is not intended to be used as a script but only as a guide.) Ideally the conversation should be an informational session. Basically, the bank rep will have a scripted response, which if you listen carefully, will impart to you what you’ll need to provide the bank to obtain the coveted answer. Here are some of the items they may want:
  • • 1.)Two months in a row bank statements. 2.)W-2 statements. (Profit and loss statement if they were self-employed.) 3.)Authorization form.(signed by your seller) 4.)Hud-1. (You can get this from your favorite escrow officer.) 5.)Contract. (As in you have obtained an offer from a ready and willing buyer. If you have no offer, you don’t get to do any of the above.) 6.)Pre-approval letter from buyer. 7.)Listing agreement. These are just some of the things banks may want in the beginning stages of the short sale process. The requested items may vary from bank to bank and from state to state. Check with your local Board of Realtors to make sure you have all the proper state forms. Some helpful tips: Be sure to get the needed fax numbers. Also they may have a direct line other than the number you called. Find out and make note of the new number. The next Anatomy of a short sale will cover what happens after we put the package together.

To contact me go to:http://www.soldbybarr.com

As the song goes "seasons change and so did I you need not wonder why". I've been doing some soul searching and making mental lists of all the new things that are part of my way of doing business. Blogging has been the most rewarding so far. Not only do I have a blog to send people to but I sit on top of almost any information that I might need to be a better real estate professional. What if I wasn't open minded to new ideas of marketing my services? What if I was too proud to listen and act upon advise from people who know what they are talking about? ect.. Change is inevitable. In fact the only thing for sure is change. Not new thoughts but they are so true in this current market we are in. I was going use the Byrds "for every season turn, turn.." but I'll leave for another post.

Where were you when you first heard this expression? I was somewhere on the planet probably at a sales meeting of some sort. Some one was "sharing" a story they heard about a guy who had a habit of paying for the person behind him while standing in line at a store. This reminds me of the saying "do unto others". This is something that is difficult to do when times are shifting but I think its more important now then ever to do so. So then how do we get ourselvess in the right frame of mind to "pay it forward"? First we must be committed to the certitude that this is a truism. Second we must take action and do it. This isn't something to only speculate about but rather this is also a call to action. Thirdly we must be consistent with it. We can't expect to get results from a few feeble attempts.

Do these two images go together when you think of short sales? I have found that being "nice" to the person on the other end of the phone, who is there to help, makes things move more expeditiously. After all isn't that what we all want a speedy operation? And I think operation is a good way to describe the process we all have to go through in order to get these deals done. I have found that being humble but firm is the best emotional state to be in when pursuing a short sale. Something as simple as being polite can make things go smoother on a other wise rocky road.

With banks heading to the hills or where ever they go when they shut down, the time to have access to a reliable lender has intensified. A reliable lender can be designated by their aptness at adjusting to shifting markets. Please note that I'm not a lender but its no secret that we agents can't perform our jobs effectively without the support of the financial institutions. So a good agent will have access to good lenders. We shouldn't take these people for granted.