If you don't fight for a Short Sale, don't do them!

"NO"... your short sale has not been approved - it has been denied. Oh well, I guess I did my best; I listed the home for sale as a short sale, took an offer and sent in the paperwork requested. didn't bother to take any photos of the home and thought I'd just wing it through the process as I was just happy to get a listing in these tough Real Estate market times.

WRONG...WRONG...WRONG.... If you take on a listing, you should be prepared to represent your customer towards achieving their goal; a sold home.

I have made the choice, yes, I do have choices in which way to take my Real Estate career and the choice was made to help distressed Sellers who must sell their home to avoid foreclosure. The choice wasn't made lightly. I knew that I had to arm myself with the tools/knowledge to be successful at it; otherwise, why do it?!

Over the past month I have been involved with a few very difficult short sales that could have easily gone to foreclosure had I not fought for them because the Lenders had initially said, "NO, your short sale offer has been denied..." However, because I knew the offer was within an acceptable fair market value range due to closed sales within the homes surrounding area, I wasn't going to take the "NO".

A most recent "NO" said my offer needed to come up an additional 15%. I told them that the home will not be sold for an additional 15%. They agreed for me to send in comps again to prove my values. I sent in the comps that proved the offer to be within an acceptable range and they said "NO" again.

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy.

I would not accept this. So I searched out for an Executive to reach who would hear me out. I knew I had a good offer. Half the battle is in reaching someone who understands all the parameters of avoiding foreclosure as foreclosure will certainly guarantee more of a loss. Quite often the front line of Loss Mitigation are simply trained to fight against those representing Sellers facing foreclosure; forget about aiming for a win win for all parties involved. Yet, if you reach upper management and your offer is supported by market facts, they'll listen. Well, this Executive listened, demanded another review and my offer was approved. How about that; a win win for everybody:

• Seller avoided foreclosure
• Lender got bad debt off of books
• Lender received more than would have as a REO property
• Buyer got a great buy on a home
• The band aid was removed from not modifying a loan for a Seller who never should have been approved in the first place for the home purchase
• The strength and stability of the neighborhood begins to regain confidence and value knowing that a solid, credit worthy Buyer now owns the home. Less likliness of future neighborhood values declining.
• I earned a paycheck at the close of the sale. Bread and butter for my family!

So the next time you think of doing a Short Sale, think long and hard; is it really in the best interest of my customer for me to handle this Short Sale for them? If you will not fight, than refer it out. After all, something is better than nothing and if you're not willing to fight than the chances of you getting nothing is pretty great.

The more you know, the better prepared, the better the outcome. Got something that you'd like addressed, just let me know!

I serve Coral Springs and the surrounding cities such as Coconut Creek, Parkland and Sunrise in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach County of South Florida as your dedicated Realtor ready to work for you. I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon. Please call me at 954-464-1100 or email me at: lynnp@ImagineYourHouse and it would be my pleasure to help you!