Hayward, CA

RANT! RANT! RANT!

As if researching suitable properties isn't enough of a challenge, now we have to deal with listing agents who don't bother posting at least one photo to show us what the property looks like.

While going through a list of properties using certain criteria, I identified 127 that may be suitable. But going through the list, I was dumbfounded at seeing that 30% of these listings do not have a single photo of the property.

And of the 38 that do not have pictures 31 of them were short sales.

SHORT SALE PROPERTY OWNERS ARE DISTRESSED!

For gosh sakes, when people are selling their homes as short sales, they are obviously in distress. And what they need is for someone to write an offer so that the short sale negotiator can review the file and hopefully accept and approve the offer to prevent foreclosure or bankruptcy. Right?

SHORT SALE LISTING AGENTS: Are you doing everything you can to sell this property?

We know the importance of pictures, visual tours, staging, etc in marketing a property for sale.

But if the listing agent doesn't take a single picture of the property, how does that reflect on that agent's ability to market, much less aggressively push the short sale process?

And agents, if you're not members of the local MLS where your listing appears, have you thought about either referring out the listing to someone who is, or get a reciprocal agreement so that your listing appears on the local MLS?

SHORT SALE LISTING SHOULD BE HANDLED AS DELICATELY AS A REGULAR LISTING

Yes, we know. It takes a lot of work and a long time to get a short sale approved and accepted, if a all. But these property owners entrusted us to help them sell their property to save them from a more financially disastrous situation.

If you can't give these folks the same care and respect as your regular listing, then for goodness sakes, don't take the listing.

Give it to someone who truly gives a damn!

RANT! RANT! RANT!

RELATED POSTS

Short Sale Listing gets multiple offers

Make sure your short sale package is complete before submitting to the short sale lender

While setting expectations for a new client, I checked with the listing agent of a bank-owned property about the offer situation for the 3 bedroom/2 bath house in Hayward. I almost fell off my chair. He had already received 98 offers!

EDUCATING THE SELLER

Yes, we understand that in many cases, the banks set the list price. And that the strategy is to move the properties as quickly as possible. But aren't they at least informed or educated about the local markets? In recent months, there have been previously-unheard of stories of multiple offers in the 50s and 60s....but 98?

By listing the bank-owned property at incredibly low (and therefore artificial) price, the bank succeeds in:

• creating havoc among the buyers and their agents
• creating unnecessary work not only for the REO agents who must wade through these offers,
  
• challenging the buyer's agents who have to explain to buyers why their above-list-price offers are not even in the running
  

EDUCATING THE BUYERS

This is an opportunity to educate the buyers on what it will take to have an offer accepted (or at least considered or countered) --- besides offering a wad of cash at way above list price.

But how can we keep motivating the buyers?

How can we motivate the buyers agents?

I've run into competitive situations...but I can't fathom 98 offers --- and at last count, they were still coming!

"The bank won't accept electronic signatures."

Twice in the last week, REO agents called to say that the REO banks they're working with will not accept electronic signatures. The problem is, they heard from the asset manager in the morning, and expect that the offers will be revised and have "wet" signatures by close of that same day.

It is literally impossible for me to get wet signatures in time since both my clients work, and one of them is a mailman on his route. Even if I got hold of them it was a logistical impossibility to get them to sign the document and send this by 5 pm to the listing agent today.

The listing agent said they did not know the bank would not, or no longer accept electronic signatures. As a matter of fact, they had to scramble, too, sending emails and making phone calls to the agents who sent offers with electronic signatures.

They also scrambled to change the remarks on the listing that electronic signatures are not accepted by the specific lender.

What to do now that this is happening...

• Before posting a listing, REO agents should immediately ask their asset manager if they will accept electronic signatures
• REO agents should make sure this instruction is included in the MLS
• And companies like DocuSign, AssureSign should work on getting the REO banks to accept or continue to accept these signatures.

Wet signatures in this technology age?

Hard to believe that we still need wet signatures when we can bank online, pay bills online, buy stuff online, sign digitally when paying with credit cards at retail stores, etc.

Not once has any listing agent, seller, title company, lender refused to acknowledge or accept use of electronic signatures on offers that my clients have signed via DocuSign. The only time anyone insisted on a "wet" signature was on a one-page FHA document.

Until today.

Sunday. Submitted offer. Shortly after, the agent acknowledged receipt.

Tuesday. Deadline to submit offer. Agent emails me at 6:45 am saying that electronic signatures are not accepted. She didn't say by whom.

When I protested to tell her the Elecrtronic Signatures was signed into law in 2000, she said "it's legal but not law."

ISSUES

1. Some sellers will not accept digital signatures. I have not run into this problem before, and I'm flabbergasted that any bank would refuse. After all, their form letters are all digitally signed!
2. Listing agent should disclose this critical information in the confidential remarks, or in the offer instructions. We can follow instructons --- but make sure it's there!

PUBLIC LAW

Just to be clear, PUBLIC LAW NOl 106-229, the Electronic Signatures Act was signed by President Clinton into law in June 2000.

WHY USE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES?

• Current market conditions are spurring us to be fleet of foot, i.e., once an REO becomes available, and is in the preferred location, configuration and price range my clients want, we write an offer immediately.
• Offer deadlines. Time is almost always an issue. We've written offers on listings --- regular sales, short sales and REOs ---- and did not run into any problems.
• Schedule conflicts. Availability to meet is a challenge. But my clients and I can communicat via emails
• Email offers. Many agents prefer emails
• Go GREEN!

Getting electronic signatures is efficient, productive and innovative. This is a call to action for REO lenders to get with the times. GO DIGITAL!

Short sale agent didn't do what a short sale listing agent should do.

My buyers finally found a property they like. I begged the agent to present our offer to the seller even after the cut-off period. Yes, we know it's a short sale. Yes, we know the drill. And GREAT, the seller liked our offer the best and accepted it. So we were prepared to wait for the short sale approval.

When I requested an update, I didn't expect what the listing agent told me:

• The seller is out of town (turns out he is out of the country) and is not able to sign documents. The lenders are requesting more documents. Ever heard of DocuSign?
• Seller is working on getting the documents the short sale lender needs. Did you not have a checklist of what is required in order to submit a short sale package?
• The seller spoke with the lender....AHA! The seller, not you?
• The agent is waiting for the seller to give her the update. Shouldn't the agent be the one updating her seller on the progress of getting the short sale approval?

Turns out the agent has not done a short sale before. But doesn't her broker make sure she knows how?

With the near-tsunami of short sales, here's an agent who took a short sale listing, presented offers, and then left it to the seller to handle the short sale negotiation with the lender. She more or less stepped back, and waited....and waited...and waited.

At this point in time, with the seller already in distress, we can help in the most profound way by tackling the nitty-gritty details and action items to process a short sale.

Still shaking my head in disbelief. I offered to help her by sending her a copy of my short sale package, including a checklist of what the seller needs to provide, samples of hardship letters, blank letter of authorization, financial profit/loss statement, etc.

But the bottom line is, she should have been a lot more resourceful in understanding what it takes to process a short sale so that she can help her seller....and in turn, help us buyers and buyers agents.

Ai, ai, ai, ai!