Spokane Short Sales Are Hard Work, But They Don't Have to "Suck"

We've been doing some reading online about "why short sales suck."

In one example, a real estate agent writes that he represented two well-qualified buyers on a moderately priced short sale. The listing agent (who represents the seller) in the transaction obtained approval from the bank within ten days...then called and said a "better" offer was on the table, effectively backing out of the contract thanks to language found in addendum RE 44 (which is not, as a matter of fact, required by Idaho law).

This is bad news all around--it has little to do with the transaction being a short sale.

Here's how we would have handled things as the listing agent: Once the bank accepted the first offer, we would never have let our clients get into a bidding war. It might be said that it is the listing agent's job to get the most money for the house. However, listing agents represent the seller, not the bank. In a short sale, if a listing agent has been successful in getting the bank to accept something, they should not introduce potential time delays.

Whiles the rules and regs are constantly changing, at the present time, if multiple offers are received before they are presented to the bank, then it only makes sense to write up the highest offer. But once the ball is rolling, only backup offers should be considered.

The writer/agent advised his clients not to move ahead, and he concludes with two parting thoughts:

"You’re much better off to find a clean, sharp home offered by a motivated seller who has enough equity to negotiate a fair deal with you.

[snip]

If you want/need to buy a home and get moved in, short sales are a total waste of time and energy for all concerned."

There are two issues here. Firstly, short sales are a fact of the present real estate environment. With Idaho one of the leaders in foreclosures nationwide, short sales are a way for home owners to potentially avoid this nasty experience (and "ding" on their credit report).

Secondly, it's about being a trustworthy, well-trained agent who is going to work towards a win-win situation every time.

In a perfect world there are no short sales and no bad agents. Since it's not, we work with what we've got...and we do it with excellence.

We'll write more on how we've been trained to handle short sales by a career loss mitigator and why that training means we are closing short sales every month.

Apprentice Winner and TV Host Joins Keller Williams

From the Keller Williams Press Release...

Kendra Todd, a nationally recognized author, lecturer and TV Personality, has joined Keller Williams Greater Seattle as the head of their Luxury Homes Division.

Todd, who won the popular NBC series The Apprentice, was the first woman and youngest contestant to ever win the hit reality show. During her tenure with the Trump Organization, she was involved with the sale of a $100 million Palm Beach Estate in Florida, the highest U.S. residential real estate transaction on record.

Currently, Todd hosts the critically acclaimed HGTV series, "My House is Worth What?" and serves as the Yahoo Finance real estate columnist with over 400 million registered users.

"We are thrilled to welcome the Kendra Todd Group to our firm" said Andrew Greenwell, Team Leader & CEO of Keller Williams Greater Seattle. "Her experience as an entrepreneur and insight into the luxury real estate market will prove to be a tremendous asset to our company," he said.