Why We Negotiate Our Short Sales and Why You Should Too

Often, I am approached by companies wanting to handing our short sale files for a fee. They promise to keep me updated, the seller out of legal hot water, and to get the file closed quickly. Some are attorneys themselves and claim to have special connections to help usher the files through. All of their promises are lies to get our business.

We negotiate all our short sales ourselves because, at the end of the day, I'm the one held responsible if my vendor acts inappropriately. Can you imagine if that vendor you hired to negotiate a short sale compromised the seller's personal information. Consider all that we have to collect for one of these files, an evil doer could steal a client's identity, clean out their bank accounts, or worse. Granted, you're probably thinking that every short sale client is broke so why would someone do that but just because the seller is financially doesn't remove our obligation for skill, care, and diligence.

So let's talk attorneys that are negotiating short sales. Honestly folks, is the attorney the one picking up the phone every 3 days to check on the file? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you. Attorney's charge hundreds of dollars per hour and there's not enough money in it for them. Instead, they hire either a paralegal or some $10 per hour employee to make the calls and handle the negotiations. For them, it's a profit center as they take up front fees from the seller and then get paid on the back side by the bank. Their promises are nothing more than a means to get more money into their slowly failing law firm.

Don't get me wrong: not all third party negotiators are out to do evil. Some are very good at what they do and actually deliver on what they promise. However, as someone who is skeptical of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE, I must preach caution to agents and sellers alike. If your agent is not comfortable handling the negotiations of your short sale, you should hire someone who is. After all, unless you enjoy having your identity stolen, sale fall apart or worse, involved in a lawsuit, it's not worth the hassle.

Charlotte Short Sales