Lauren Nemeschansky

I just came back from a real estate seminar yesterday where I happened to have lunch with several realtors from all over the country who I met there. We exchanged ideas and information about the real estate market and issues in real estate. Of course when I told them that I specialize in negotiating short sales for both my own clients and other Realtors in the Los Angeles area, a discussion about short sales and needed changes in the process arose. One gentleman told me a funny story about a short sale that he just completed where the banker at Wachovia Bank was so disorganized that he sent him a full short sale approval letter for $20,000 less than the offer price already submitted to them. The buyer was just thrilled with the news and they amended the contract to reflect the bank's "generosity." The short sale closed without any problems at that new lower price, chosen by Wachovia. He then asked me if I had ever experienced anything like that with a bank, in all honesty I told him, I never have.

Do you need to know who to contact at the bank or lender to get your short sale offer approved? Are you working on a short sale or recently completed working on a short sale and can share a needed contact at that bank? Lets help each other to get our short sales approved and sold, by working together we can accomplish miracles. We are here to help each other with contact information and advice, share your experience and information here. Be our guest...Take what you need but remember to also give what you can. This will only work if everyone does his or her best to actively participate.

Well intended Realtors often ask me for advice on getting their short sales approved, however a question that I should be asked is; "how to get a short sale approved where the seller is assured of a discharge from all debt obligations? or a promise that a future deficiency judgment will not be sought." This is the key for doing a truly "successful" and complete job for your client. Getting the short sale approved so that they can sell their home is a battle, getting it approved so that they will not have their lender(s) knocking at their door for money in 3-4 months after the sale is another even more important battle which ethically should be taken into account prior to closing the escrow. It is crucial when doing a short sale to request a discharge from debt for the seller stating that the investor/banker will not pursue a deficiency judgment against the seller, this can occur with the primary investor but most often always occurs with the holder of the second note or equity line. When we tell a home seller who is having problems paying the mortgage that we can "short sell" his or her home, we are holding ourselves up as experts, they trust us to protect them. To protect our client, the sale of their home AND negotiating the release of debt should be viewed as an integral part of that process. Even if the seller does not ask us about the possibility of a lender pursuing a deficiency judgment against them in the future, several months after the close of escrow, it is our ethical obligation to inform them about that possibilityand to negotiate with the lender to mitigate that from happening. To negotiate a short sale without negotiating for a release from a future deficiency judgment is indeed the ultimate short sale fatality and is most often far worse for the seller than to have their complete short sale denied.