Mike Postell

"Unbelievable! Does the lender want this property to go to foreclosure?" Judy, the listing agent proclaimed as she placed her phone on it's cradle. She has been calling the lender twice a week for the past three months regarding the short sale and the lender's customer representatives continue to tell her "The package has been received but no decision has been made." Sound familiar? Judy is now convinced that the lender just wants the property to go to foreclosure sale. What is most frustrating to the agent is the purchase offer came in above the market value and it's not getting the the time of day from the lender. What is really going on here?

What happened?
The truth about this case is the lender really doesn't have an opinion about whether the case should go to foreclosure or short sale. The lender doesn't have an opinion one way or another because no one at the lender's short sale office has reviewed the package to see if the offer is good. Unfortunately, for all parties, ten minutes after Judy's phone call to the lender, she received a call from the selling agent who told her the buyer just walked. Too much time transpired and the buyer got cold feet and found a different home that was listed with a different agent.

The listing agent's time was ineffective with her lender follow up.
Wait one minute. Judy is on top of her game. She did exactly what she thought was the best course of action with short sales. She was diligent with her follow ups. Judy verified and re-verified with the lender that all of the documents were received. She contacted the lender at least twice a week for three months. Did the lender lie to Judy? Not really. Judy had been talking to a customer service representative each time she called. The customer service representative probably checked the fax server or perhaps their log which is kept on each borrower each time Judy called. In doing this, the representative saw that the documents had been received. Judy was ineffective in her follow up because she failed to motivate the lender to move the short sale forward. To sum it up, Judy was not firm enough with the lender. Perhaps she was too gullible in believing the lender's canned rhetoric.

This case proves once again that "Time is Money!"
Judy lost the short sale. Judy is crushed by this news. She keeps replaying in her mind everything she did and she wonders what she could have done that could have possibly resulted in a closed deal. To make matters worse, the listed property will be sold at sheriff's sale.

This lost time could have been used elsewhere
How much extra time did Judy spend on this short sale that never closed? How much additional commissions could Judy have made if she would have spent that wasted time on other productive tasks in marketing and sales? Judy thinks she has learned her lesson well. Judy has decided not to ever list another short sale again. She feels short sales are a big waste of time. Short sales may indeed be a big waste of time if not handled properly. There may be a better answer for Judy.

What could Judy have done to avoid this disaster?
There is a Tsunami of mortgage defaults on its way and Judy will be missing out on many listings if she stays out of the short sale game. However, if Judy continues on the path she is on with short sales, few of her listings will ever close.

There are two options for realtors who want to be in the short sale arena: