Pacita Dimacali - e-PRO, SRES, CDPE, MBA East Bay, North CA real estate

As much as I bemoan the length of time and the hoops I go through to do short sales transactions, I am taking this opportunity to say, "THANK GOODNESS FOR SHORT SALES!"

Why?

...Because it's a way to guide our sellers who have found themselves in dire situations and may not know their options.

...Because it's a way for distressed property owners to avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy, and thus salvage their credit

...Because more homes are within reach for home buyers who have little money but have a lot of time and patience to wait out the lengthy short sale process

...Because while there is a frenzy for buying foreclosure where people compete in multiple offer situations for AS IS purchases, there is less competition for short sales where there is room for negotiation

...Because short sales offer opportunities not just for the buyers looking for a good deal, or sellers hoping for debt forgiveness, but also for realtors who truly want to help their clients and who are in it for the long haul. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Right?

...Because we've learned how to do another type of sale. And every key learning is a new marketable skill.

What do we have to lose? It takes time, sure....but eventually, it will bear fruit. The more we sow, the more we reap.

Perhaps this is a good time to add that ALL of my current escrows are with short sale buyers and sellers!

RELATED POSTS:

SHORT SALE PACKAGE: Make sure it's complete before submitting to the lender

OPEN LETTER to Short Sale Sellers. If you really want to sell your property....

BEST AND WORST SHORT SALE LENDERS - a Short Sale Report from ForeclosureRadar.com

RED FLAGS: Are short sale sellers selling, just or stalling?

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!

On TRULIA a real estate related network where people post questions about buying, selling, market conditions, etc. , there was a recent question that had me shaking my head in disbelief.

What is the best way to wall off the so-called "pros" from discussions? This poster said that he "got tired of the endless self-serving promotion by realtors of themselves and the real estate market. It is quite a turnoff and just ends up dumbing down the entire discussion to a sort of infomercial level."

And he asks:

• Is there any way to have a section here where realtors and brokers are excluded?
• Are there other real estate forums where you can have an adult discussion?

That opened the door to a lot of comments. Since this is a real estate forum, of course there will be a lot of realtors who will weigh in. After all, this is our life.

HOWEVER.....

It does bring up the question on when and how we should present our credentials ---- as people who are sincerely trying to help and provide good information, and not as hungry agents trolling for business.

I have to admit that I, myself, have seen where others do promote themselves and have gotten annoyed at a few who are so blatant about it.

Then I second-guessed myself, wondering if that's the way to build a business --- but an associate cautioned against doing that. He said that if you yourself are disturbed by what others are doing, why would you copy them?

What we should aim to do when answering questions is to stick to our purpose: give good information and qualified guidance.

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the two most important words in the English language? "Thank you."
2. What is the least important word? "I"

This is probably the right place to share this quotation from the Dalai Lama:

"If you want others to be happy, show compassion. If YOU want to be happy, show compassion."

This is a non-real estate related post, but directed at dog lovers in this community.

My family was made aware of two ailments that befell our dogs --- diseases we did not know about. And yes, they're serious.

HGE - Hemorrhagic Gastro Enteritis

http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dogdiseasesh/a/HGEindogs.htm

Last Thursday, my sister said their young Shiba Inu named Aiko seemed listless, and started vomiting blood. They made an appointment to see the doctor the following morning.

That night, her husband kept vigil over the dog. At 1:00 am Aiko started heaving and vomited a lot of blood. They packed her up and went to the veterinary hospital just 10 minutes away. Aiko didn't make it.

She was barely 4 years old. She was spirited and feisty. The family is in shock at how fast it happened.

Pemphigus Foliaceus

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2202&S=1&SourceID=42

Our rescue dog, Joey, who is a Formosan Mountain Dog, started developing some skin lesions on his nose. They would dry up, and then new lesions formed. We took him to the vet who took a biopsy and confirmed the diagnosis. Left untreated, it could also be fatal. Fortunately, we were able to get him to a vet. Although the treament will be a long one that needs to be constantly monitored (and yes, it can get very expensive), we are thankful that we don't have to endure the heartache of losing a pet again.

We have never heard of these diseases before....so I wanted to make sure that the dog lovers are aware of their existence, what the symptoms are, and how fast one should act.

Don't second guess...