Adriana West

I just received the most interesting phone call! I need to write this blog while the details are fresh in my mind.

I had a couple of short sales where the second lien is a line-of-credit from a major unnamed lender (go figure... from the title). In both cases, the first lender was reasonable and responded within an appropriate timeframe with an approval. In both cases, this second lender refused to accept reasonable amounts, or the amounts dictated by the first lender (which in one case was THE SAME LENDER holding both loans). The negotiator from the Line of credit refused, and refused, for several months to try to work with my Seller: If they were not going to get their significant percentage of the outstanding balance, plus a promissory note, they were not going to release the lien. There is no room for negotiation. There is no flexibility in these guidelines.

It became clear that this lender was simply not going to accept the short sale transactions I was negotiating with them. The sellers reached the point where things could no longer wait, and decided to file bankruptcy. Both of them.

Now here we are three weeks after our last conversation with this lender. I had stopped calling because the clients had filed bankruptcy. There was no point. So I just get a phone call from the negotiator who has both files asking me for a status on the transactions. "Oh, they have both filed bankruptcy because your organization would not accept to negotiate a short sale in any other way than your guidelines."

The negotiator asked if there was any way to bring the Short Sale back to the table. "Sorry, no, as I understand it, all the papers have been filed by the Seller with the court."

The negotiator gushed about how unfortunate this was, that now they had some leeway to work with. Did I have any other clients that she could help me with? The change in tone and manner was astounding!

I cannot help but wonder... how many bankruptcies and foreclosures did it take to prompt this phone call? And, have they really changed their ways? Are other lenders sounding like they are beginning to see the light? Please let us know what you are experiencing out there.

In the last week I have received many responses to the last blog that I wrote (Do They Really Know What They Are Doing?). The majority of the people (who happened to be homeowners) have told me that after working a short sale with Bank of America for months, and having strong offers, the bank foreclosed and never gave a response to any of the offers.

One of these was a homebuilder who had more than $200,000 equity in his house, and even so the bank foreclosed. Well, BOA clearly shows the it has no feelings involved with these processes. I truly believe, however, that it is my responsibility as an agent to follow up with this bank and make sure that my listings are not foreclosed in the middle of the process. I can say that I have saved each of my listings from foreclosure between two and four times each during the short sale process. It is a long and frustrating process, one in which I spend over three hours doing it each time, but I truly believe my clients deserve this time and effort.

I show the bank that it is a good business decision not to foreclose, and when they see that I do not give up calling and calling until the extension is given (I think I become a pain in their...), then they do it.

Your clients really deserve an agent who is working in their best interest. Are you really up for all this hassle? If the answer is no, please refer these clients to an agent who is willing to make this commitment and has the experience to make it happen. It is better for everyone involved, and could mean the difference between bankruptcy and saving the client's financial future.

A couple of weeks ago, I contacted Bank of America to try to stop 3 foreclosures on different properties where I had submitted offers about 4 months ago - and all this time they had not "had time" to assign a negotiator. Usually, I need to call three or more times before I am lucky enough to find a person who really wants to help me and make the best of his/her time for the company they work for.

The first person who answered the phone told me that there was no way to stop the foreclosure unless the negotiator said so. By the way, remember I still don't have a negotiator? Between calls, a negotiator had been assigned - who decided to close the short sale without telling anybody.

I hung up in frustration, and called back again. The person who answered the phone this time told me that she cannot do anything. I asked her to transfer my phone call to her supervisor, and she asked me to hold. 10 minutes later, she returned saying her manager was too busy, and after looking at the file her manager stated that the offer was too low and they needed one more than 30K higher in order to stop the foreclosure. It was now clear that the only goal she had in mind was to get rid of my phone call and move on - the numbers did not make sense at all and were considerably higher than the outstanding principal. I hung up again.

Calling for the third time, I reached someone who really wanted to work and do what she was being paid for. After sharing my frustrations with her, she explained to me that her company received 400,000 short sale packages every week!

The numbers do not fit in my mind, but let's assume it is accurate. I said - with these kinds of numbers, the company must be hiring like crazy. She said "Yes, indeed, they are hiring." But who are the people who are in charge of these files? I realized that every time I make a call, I need to talk to at least three or four people before I find someone who really wants to work and deserve their monthly paycheck. So how much are the banks losing for their lack of interest or ability to hire people who really care about doing their jobs right? Employees who really care about the bank and have the knowledge to do the job. Do they really know what they're doing?

Tell me: are you hearing the same volume from your lenders? How often are you speaking to the same person you spoke to in the past? Do the people you talk to have the knowledge to be able to do their jobs, or are you training them - saving Bank of America the training expense?

Two closings I had a couple of weeks ago were Short Sales where I represented the buyer for a change. Interestingly enough, both sellers were proactive. They knew all the parties involved wanted to achieve the same goal: Close. That is why they allowed me to talk with their lenders on their behalf during the final stages due to the fact that their Listing Agents were not familiar with Short Sales.

Both of these short sales took less than 2 months to complete and close, and the attitude of one of the Listing Agents was great. He knew that the only way to close was with my help. He was open to learn, to listening to all the advice I gave him along the way, and to share with me all the difficulties he encountered during the process. We solved them together, without ever failing to represent his client's best interests.

I am working right now with another Listing Agent who does not have a clue about Short Sales, and her ignorance equals the size of her ego. I'm sorry if that makes me sound rude or egotistical, but the truth is that I am not comfortable if someone else is playing with a Seller's financial future.

We are living through some tough times, but I think our values and ethics as Real Estate Agents needs to rise above any kind of personal need of the moment. My advice for all agents who are getting involved with Short Sales is to learn the process, and the obstacles you might encounter, from a specialist before you play with someone else's financial future. If you do not feel savvy enough, be proactive. Co-op with an agent who can share with you their knowledge and experience, or work with the buyer's agent who has been through several of them and knows the ropes. Use their experience to build your own. The war of egos should be over, try to give your client the best service you would expect for yourself in their situation.

We can all work together in situations like this where we generate a win-win situation for everyone, not competing and starving each other. Share your ideas for how we can cooperate in this fashion for everyone

Prudential Georgia Real Estate is now offering a revolutionary program called Homeowner Education and Loan Protection (HELP) designed to offset fear of buying in this economy and market. Many people who might consider buying a house right now are putting off that decision becasue of uncertainty about the economy and their job. Car companies have been offering Payment Protection programs for this very reason, now Prudential is taking that idea to the Real Estate market.

With unemployment hovering around 10%, this is offsetting the effect of the Federal $8000 tax credit, Georgia's $1800 tax credit, and the indredible buyer's market we are experiencing. Even with these incredible numbers, people are hesitating because they are understandably worried about the safety of their job. This program will help alleviate the hesitation.

The HELP program is administered by the Rainy Day Foundation and available now from certified Prudential Realtors. It combines the Payment Protection program with an Education program to help the buyer during the first two years, with the goal of helping the buyer stay in the home. The program costs $500 and is funded by the Seller at closing.

With this program, if the buyer loses his job within 24 months of purchasing the house, the program will pay up to $1,800 per month for up to six months. Buyers may negotiate it into the purchase contract, or sellers may offer it in order to make their properties stand out and be more attractive to buyers.

Click on http://vidego.multicastmedia.com/player.php?p=44059 to view a video explaining the program.