Interviewing an Agent for your Short Sale

[Reprinted with permission from Metro Atlanta Short Sales Blog]

Some days ago, I was interviewed by a prospect looking for an agent to sell his house. I appreciate that interview - everyone should interview the person they will employ to sell their house. This gentleman, however, was having financial problems and most likely was going to lose his house if we did not start the short sale process very soon.

Some of his concerns were whether to work with the "Expert in this neighborhood" who knows his neighborhood (I had not sold a house in his neighborhood before) or to work with an expert in Short Sales, whether the photographs would be taken by a professional photographer, and how impressive the flyers and brochures would be.

I want to share with you some interesting facts and also some of my thoughts that came out of that interview:

• There are 78 houses for sale in that neighborhood today, 7 of which are foreclosures
• There is one other short sale in that neighborhood
• There are 38 different Agents with homes listed in this neighborhood
• On average, the active listings have been on the market for 8 months
• 15 houses were sold in this high-end neighborhood (600k-1M) in the last 6 months, 7 of which were foreclosures
• Each one of the 15 houses was sold by a different Agent

It seems to me that someone looking for a Real Estate Professional, and a specialist in Short Sales, should not be looking for the façade the agent presents - the fancy car and that big joke in the industry about being "the specialist in your neighborhood". You have to always have in mind that you are hiring that agent to sell your house not your neighborhood.

You can believe that every time I send in a Short Sale package to begin the negotiations with the lender, the forms do not ask what type of car I drive, if I go for a manicure every week, or how popular and known I am in that neighborhood. What they focus on is how complete the packet is, how accurate the numbers are, and most importantly the negotiations I have had with the Buyer and their Loss Mitigation Department. They want to know they are getting the best deal they will get, and that the deal will happen. In this, the majority of these lenders know me because of the volume of short sales I do with them and the skills I have developed.

You might be tempted to ask me what kind of car I drive and how often I go to the Parlor? Well, with the price of gasoline today, I get to choose between my Nissan Sentra and my Ford Explorer. As for the Parlor, I would love to go see a manicurist every week - but how would I be able to give each of my clients all my attention if I went that often?

I can promise you that, rather than a fancy façade and polished prose, what you will get from me is a professional and knowledgeable team with a caring sense of service and accurate numbers you can rely on.

[Reprinted with permission from Metro Atlanta Short Sales Blog]