Terry McCarley, CDPE

Over a year ago I had buyers interested in a short sale listed with another agent. We submitted a strong cash offer to the listing agent and received an executed copy of the contract back. Then we waited and waited and waited some more. When we couldn't even get the listing agent to return phone calls the buyers decided to cancel the offer and purchase another property.

Fast forward to November 2011...I receive an email from the seller of the home my buyers canceled the purchase contract on. I was informed that our offer was never even sent to the lender and now the previous listing agreement had expired. The sellers wanted to know if my buyers were still interested which they weren't as they already purchased another home. The seller then wanted to know if I would be interested in listing the home as a short sale. He had kept the original offer I had submitted, researched me online and tracked me down thru the internet.

Here we are in early January and we just got approval along with the sellers debt forgiven in writing. I am not sure why the original listing agent didn't submit the original offer I sent to the lender but I am happy the seller decided to contact me. I was able to successfully get the short sale approved and the seller is extremely relieved.

I spent over 2 months dealing with an out of state buyer who planned on purchasing a property in Cape Coral, FL. I spent numerous hours sending listings, answering questions and educating the buyers about the area. They wanted to access a web-site I pay for so they could access our local multiple listing service. They emailed numerous questions about different properties, questions about the Cape Coral area in general and even informed me of the dates they would be in town to view homes.

I marked my calendar off for those days so I would be available to show them homes. I printed off information on their "favorites" and was prepared to meet them when they phoned me upon their arrival. When the arrival date came and went with no phone call from them (they had said they would call me) I attempted to reach them. All of a sudden I stopped getting any response from them at all...phone messages and email messages went unanswered.

Fast forward and now I piece together the puzzle...it was pretty easy to do as I knew your favorite properties, your travel dates and the fact you would be paying cash for your new home. Upon checking your favorite properties as they closed I researched to find out who the new owners were, how much they paid and how they paid.

I have decided you used me to get access to the website I pay for as the agent you purchased thru (who happens to have the same last name as you) is a part time real estate agent that only closes 1 to 2 transactions each year. You also used me for my 23 plus years knowledge of the area as we discussed how long I have lived in Cape Coral. The agent you purchased thru doesn't have a web-site and they don't have a great deal of time to respond to specific questions on properties as they work a full time job outside of the real estate industry.

The sad thing is that you ended up being the real loser as you paid several thousand dollars over market value for the home you purchased. I must assume since you paid cash you didn't have an appraisal done and since your real estate agent doesn't work day in and day out in the industry you probably didn't get the necessary information needed to determine fair market value.

I feel bad for myself as I wasted a great deal of my time and you lied to me about not working with another real estate agent. I worked hard for you and in the end I lost. The reality of all this is that I feel really bad for you...you are the real loser. You overpaid for your new home and I can only hope you didn't make other poor decisions such as failing to get a home inspection. I assume I will never know but I hope you enjoy your new home in beautiful Cape Coral.

The Lee County Florida Homestead Exemption opens January 1st and ends March 1st. If you purchased or moved into a new primary residence in 2011 you have until March 1 to file for the special tax breaks available for full-time residents. Please note that if you already have the homestead exemption you do not have to reapply - it will renew automatically.

Veterans, widows and widowers are eligible for some other discounts in addition to the standard homestead exemption. If any of these apply make sure you see if you qualify for these discounts as well.

For more information you can visit www.leepa.org or contact the Lee County Property Appraiser's office at 239-533-6100. The office is located at 2480 Thompson Street in Fort Myers.

Note To Mr. Listing Agent: Your Requirement That My BUYER Pay YOU A Bonus If He Buys Your Listing Just Scared Him Away!!! Do you really think you are working in your sellers best interest by demanding a bonus be paid to you at closing from the buyer??? I (and my buyer) both realize this is a short sale and I of all people know they require alot of work as I have represented numerous sellers with short sales. I would never even consider asking (let alone demanding) the buyer of the home pay me a bonus - my commission comes from the seller.

Here is the verbage in a listing in our multiple listing service (this is an example of several similar listings that have recently popped up): Buyer agrees to pay listing broker/agent a bonus commission of $1,500 at closing. Seller has instructed listing agent not to present any offer not providing for $1,500 bonus commission to listing agent at closing. This appears in the public marketing comments along with other requirements including the buyer agrees to pay a short sale negotiation fee as well as the bonus to the listing agent.

To me this is gambling on the belief that some buyer will come along willing to pay this bonus - I personally don't want to gamble on my short sale listings. I want to assist my seller in successfully getting the short sale closed and avoiding foreclosure.

I truly hope other agents do not start this same practice as I truly believe it will just create more problems for the real estate industry. Short sales are difficult enough without having to deal with things like this.

My buyer wants to know why he should pay the listing agent this "bonus" when the seller will pay the listing agent the commission when the property closes. He also questions why he should have to pay a short sale negotiation fee. He is willing to offer full price for the home but takes issue with these fees and told me he won't pay them and therefore will not move forward with making an offer. I did finally get him past the short sale negotiation fee (it was minimal) but the "bonus" to the listing agent is a real deal breaker.

I spoke with my Broker regarding this issue as I felt that

A) It may not be legal

B) At minimum I think it is unethical

My Broker in turn called our legal hotline and was told that it is indeed legal which totally amazes me. I believe that if I am representing a seller (short sale or not) I should do everything possible to market the property and locate a ready, willing and able buyer. If by demanding buyers pay a bonus which results in scaring buyers away, I believe I am doing a disservice to my seller.

Do you think this practice is ok??? Any and all thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!!!