I want a realtor who IS NOT afraid of Short sales or forclosure sales (mortgage, loan)

[cmist]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

I can respect that. I don't want to work with a realtor who doesn't want to work with me. I just know there are enough realtors that would be more than happy to represent people who are interested in short sales. It takes some initiative and phone calls but you can find agents willing to do this.

Agreed. They are out there... the perk to realtors who are successful and experienced is that they get to choose their clients, instead of the clients choosing them. I bet its the same in your business. You develop enough clientele where you can afford to pass off the ones that are too much of a hassle to someone that actually needs them and is more willing to tolerate in order to break into the field.

[Beena]

Originally Posted by armx

if you are only looking at the short sale or forecolosure homes you are just wasting the realtor's time ...and in the current market conditions s/he is better off looking for a real customer who is ready, able and willing to buy

Wow, what planet are you living on? I know 29 realtors and 28 of them would be grateful to show anything at this point.

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by Foreverking

Im looking at homes and the homes in my range are short sales and forclosures. I cant even get these lazy realtors in Gilbert to show me a home without a 10 minute lecture on how they wont be able to close the deal. Send me a private message if you think you are an expert in this type of sale, Im looking in Gilbert, so knowing the local market is very desireable. Im bummed, I wanted to look at some homes tonight and my wife said that no one would want to show us any. I thought for sure someone would want to make a customer tonight, but alas I lost the bet and we had no takers. So I sit here, looking longingly at beautiful homes and NO ONE will turn the darn combo so I can get in to look

I am in the early stages of a short sale deal. Actually getting ready to fax the counter back to our realtor tomorrow, which we think the seller will accept. I think I have found an excellent realtor with a lot of knowledge on short sales. She was also willing to spend hours with us driving us around looking at homes - short sales, foreclosures, and regular listings. Now, she did know we were prequalified and serious about moving, so perhaps that adds extra incentive. But she has been great to work with.

PM me if you want her contact info.

I will say if you are interested in a short sale be prepared to wait a long time- 3-5 months before it closes. Fortunately for us that works out pretty nicely, but most people need a little quicker action.

[cmist]

Originally Posted by Zathras

I am in the early stages of a short sale deal. Actually getting ready to fax the counter back to our realtor tomorrow, which we think the seller will accept. I think I have found an excellent realtor with a lot of knowledge on short sales. She was also willing to spend hours with us driving us around looking at homes - short sales, foreclosures, and regular listings. Now, she did know we were prequalified and serious about moving, so perhaps that adds extra incentive. But she has been great to work with.

PM me if you want her contact info.

I will say if you are interested in a short sale be prepared to wait a long time- 3-5 months before it closes. Fortunately for us that works out pretty nicely, but most people need a little quicker action.

FYI, the seller WILL accept your offer, on a short sale a seller gets the same (as in ZERO) whether you offer $10 or full list price.

Its the bank that will hold it up for half a year. I'm glad you found a realtor that is working with you with a good attitude. So many things though from now until closing are out of everyone's control. The property will remain active on the market while the bank is deliberating, leaving the door open to bidding wars.

Please don't think I am trying to squash your good news... I'm just giving you some idea on why a realtor might get frustrated with the process...

If you have made an offer that you are willing to adjust upwards far down the road just when you think its over, you can stay in the ring fighting for it, but if you are firm with what you offered and have a "take it or leave it" stance, you may need to return to AZ for another house hunt and maybe with a new attitude and time frame that won't be able to accommodate short sales.

[Rick Lee]

We put an offer on a short sale three weeks ago. Today the bank countered. If we agree to it, we can close in January. That's a pretty decent turnaround. Now, if I can get my wife to agree to a $30 per month higher payment than what our first offer would have been.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by armx

Op just doesn't realize that the "operative word" in his post is customer ... if you are only looking at the short sale or forecolosure homes you are just wasting the realtor's time ...and in the current market conditions s/he is better off looking for a real customer who is ready, able and willing to buy - not just wanting to steal a deal and has a lot of time to waste.

actually its all I qualify for, its the price range banks say I can purchase. I don't want to waste a second of anybodys time. I need a look in the 120K and down range, what the heck do you see. Im looking in Gilbert, and let me tell you, its not easy to find anything else. Yes, before anyone askes, IT HAS TO BE GILBERT, but thats another long story.

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by cmist

FYI, the seller WILL accept your offer, on a short sale a seller gets the same (as in ZERO) whether you offer $10 or full list price.

Its the bank that will hold it up for half a year. I'm glad you found a realtor that is working with you with a good attitude. So many things though from now until closing are out of everyone's control. The property will remain active on the market while the bank is deliberating, leaving the door open to bidding wars.

Please don't think I am trying to squash your good news... I'm just giving you some idea on why a realtor might get frustrated with the process...

If you have made an offer that you are willing to adjust upwards far down the road just when you think its over, you can stay in the ring fighting for it, but if you are firm with what you offered and have a "take it or leave it" stance, you may need to return to AZ for another house hunt and maybe with a new attitude and time frame that won't be able to accommodate short sales.

Actually there *is* some skin in the game for the seller in a short sale. I asked my realtor that exact question because I thought the same thing- what's the difference to the seller who owes 500k if I offer them 400k or 100k? Well, there will be a contract between the seller and their lender, with tax implications based on the final deficit, if they forgive the debt. So while it's not a 1-1 dollar equivalent to the seller's bottom line, there is incentive for them to care about getting a good offer. But of course the bank's acceptance is the real key.

In our case, our realtor has done a BPO using comps to get what she feels is fair market for the property, and then advised us to come in at about 90% of that. The lender will also appraise the property as part of their process, and if it is in synch with hers, they will likely accept.

It is also specified in our contract offer that once we deposit earnest into escrow, the bank is not allowed to accept any other offers while they are processing ours. And if after 60 days they have not accepted we have the right to cancel with full earnest refund.

Yes, it will be a long process, but we think we have someone who knows what she's doing.

And hey, we're always willing to return to AZ to househunt, especially in the winter!

[Zathras]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

We put an offer on a short sale three weeks ago. Today the bank countered. If we agree to it, we can close in January. That's a pretty decent turnaround. Now, if I can get my wife to agree to a $30 per month higher payment than what our first offer would have been.

That is exceptional turnaround! Good luck with the wife factor!

[cmist]

Originally Posted by Zathras

Actually there *is* some skin in the game for the seller in a short sale. I asked my realtor that exact question because I thought the same thing- what's the difference to the seller who owes 500k if I offer them 400k or 100k? Well, there will be a contract between the seller and their lender, with tax implications based on the final deficit, if they forgive the debt. So while it's not a 1-1 dollar equivalent to the seller's bottom line, there is incentive for them to care about getting a good offer. But of course the bank's acceptance is the real key.

In our case, our realtor has done a BPO using comps to get what she feels is fair market for the property, and then advised us to come in at about 90% of that. The lender will also appraise the property as part of their process, and if it is in synch with hers, they will likely accept.

It is also specified in our contract offer that once we deposit earnest into escrow, the bank is not allowed to accept any other offers while they are processing ours. And if after 60 days they have not accepted we have the right to cancel with full earnest refund.

Yes, it will be a long process, but we think we have someone who knows what she's doing.

And hey, we're always willing to return to AZ to househunt, especially in the winter!

True, I understand some banks put the deficit on the home seller, but its not common and on a case by case basis.

As for your wording in the original purchase contract demanding the banks do not consider any other offer, there is NO DEAL until the bank signs it... You can write anything you want into any contract, but it means nothing until its signed. Then once its accepted by the bank, at that point it would become a valid executed contract, making the phrase is redundant and pointless. There is already wording in the fine print that says it will be off the market upon an "acceptance".

What I'm saying is WHILE you are waiting helplessly for their answer, the home will be shown to anyone and everyone, and if someone writes an offer 10K more than yours, they are still free to choose either regardless of what you stipulate... You can't stop them from taking their time to "review" whatever you write.

The best advice any realtor could give you is to make the highest offer possible to eliminate the odds of getting bumped out during the waiting period. Coming in at 90% of market value leaves some room to be bumped out, but if you feel its not worth full price and don't mind that possiblity thats your choice.

Keep us updated, it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by cmist

Agreed. They are out there... the perk to realtors who are successful and experienced is that they get to choose their clients, instead of the clients choosing them. I bet its the same in your business. You develop enough clientele where you can afford to pass off the ones that are too much of a hassle to someone that actually needs them and is more willing to tolerate in order to break into the field.

It is the same way in our field, we can refuse to take certain insurance policies, Medicaid or Medicare. This is why I can respect realtors for doing that. If they have established themselves and have enough clients that they can be selective, I can't fault them for that.