Cape Coral Short Sale Scams - Seller Beware

Many property owners in Cape Coral Florida are in a position where they are facing pre-foreclosure situations due to changes in the real estate market and economy as a whole are considering performing a short sale on their properties. I must stress USE CAUTION WHEN PERFORMING A SHORT SALE ON YOUR PROPERTY.

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I have recently been in contact with several new customers who have contacted me regarding listing their property and assisting them in negotiating and performing a short sale on the property.

It seems more and more that many people who are facing a short sale or pre-foreclosure situation not only in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Lehigh Acres Florida, but throughout the State of Florida and the nation as a whole. The trouble is that some of these people are becoming victimized by REALTOR® who don't know what they are doing and some shady Investors.

A friend of mine recently contacted me when through the course of a conversation I had mentioned that our real estate team at Sellstate Achievers Realty Network Inc. was actively negotiating short sales for pre foreclosure properties in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, and Lehigh Acres. But the key was that we had a proven track record of closing the files successfully.

My friend then told me his horror story of how an agent listed his short sale / pre foreclosure property in Cape Coral FL for sale at the price he owed the bank (not listing it for its present market value), the agent never took any photos of the home (they took a picture of the home from the county property appraiser website), and hadn't even placed a lock box on his property after having it listed with them for 120 days. He provided multitudes of financial information to his realtor who then all of a sudden dropped off the face of the earth and then wouldn't return his calls.

A customer from California reading one of my short sale blog's contacted me because he had three pre-foreclosure homes in Cape Coral FL that he needed to have an agent perform a short sale for him. He told me how he had been in contact with an investor who told him he would do such for him. After months of waiting he found out that no work had been done on his behalf and his file sat stagnant for months and the properties had never been listed for sale.

Many investors are now finding out that the banks / lenders are now placing deed restrictions on the sale of the property for a certain number of days and pricing restrictions that don't allow the investor to flip the property between closing tables with simultaneous transactions. In addition I would highly recommend extreme caution in authorizing someone to have full power of attorney for your real estate and transferring the deed for ownership of your property to an investor. In the worst case scenario I was given information where an investor let a file fail and home go back to the bank in foreclosure because they were unable to make a profit in the deal, leaving the homeowners clueless almost throughout the entire process till the day the bank came to change the locks on the property.

In both of the situations above performing a short sale on a pre foreclosure property is much more that just listing the property for sale and waiting for an offer to come in. Keep in mind that some lenders now require that a property is listed FOR SALE and marketed by a REALTOR® for a period of 60 days prior to starting the negotiation process.

Our team listed the properties for sale at their true market value, took photos, placed a lock box on the property so other agents can show the home, and marketed the property on almost 40 different national internet real estate sites just as we would with any other customer who asked us to sell their property. Since this was a short sale pre foreclosure file we also obtained all of his financial and mortgage / lender information and made contact with his lenders loss mitigation department to obtain the contact info for who we would be working with.

The good news is that within 10 days of listing both properties for sale and performing all of the above actions we have signed contracts for sale and purchase of both properties and are actively negotiating with their lenders.

While we can often times sell a home in a pre foreclosure or situation as a short sale there are no guarantees. The success of said sell is also reliant on the homeowner and their level of cooperation. Homeowners should also contact their own attorney and/or tax accountant to be clear on potential ramifications of said sale.

Please keep in mind that this blog discusses some scary situations that have occurred to people performing a short sale on their pre foreclosure properties. The purpose of this blog is to allow you to make an informed decision when choosing a REALTOR® or Investor to perform services for you in this difficult time you are experiencing.

If you are in financial distress and have thought about selling you home as a Short Sale to avoid foreclosure, follow this link for assistance. We can help you and your family. We are a proven leader in our community when it comes to listing, negotiating, and closing short sale properties for our customers.

I would like to offer the following insight into the short sale process by directing you to a blog I previously wrote entitled "What is a Short Sale & How Does It Work"

Scott Slocum
Licensed Real Estate Sales Associate (REALTOR®)
Sellstate Achievers Realty Network
Direct: 239-340-1384
Scott@The-Extreme-Team.com
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"Copyright © 2007 by Scott Slocum. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the written consent of the author."