I have been working a few deals that have the same seller and the same selling agent. The seller has properties heading to foreclosure. The selling agent, whom I had never dealt with before contacted me and wanted me to buy the properties. I agreed that I would look into it.
Here’s the catch, the seller bought a couple of properties by misrepresenting himself and saying that they were his primary residence. He took out these mortgages within a month or two of each other. Neither the LO or the borrower disclosed the other property on the REO schedule of the 1003 and the mortgage was not reporting on the bureau, so his actual DTI was not reflected. He took out 100% loans on these properties and has never occupied the properties. Since this fraud was committed just last year, there isn’t a lot of equity in a few of them although there are a couple he bought under market. I’m sure that was a fluke :yahoo:
So I explain to the selling agent, the only way to handle these is to do short sales. This agent assures me he knows how to do them, tells me that he and the seller actually began the short sale process. Submitted the packet to the lender and were just waiting on the bank. I go ahead and contract one of the properties based on the short sale they have finally approved. The house goes to sale on Tuesday. My buyer is ready to close cash, and then I get a call that the seller wants to increase the price $20,000 saying it’s because the bank told him there were back taxes. Well these taxes were not reflected on title, and certainly, this would have come up before a short sale approval, so admittedly overdue, my radar is up. Turns out there are no back taxes, it was the selling agent who wanted the money because he wasn’t going to make any money on the sale.
I ask the selling agent, who refuses to let me talk to his borrower, some of the obvious questions I took for granted when talking with him initially. Today I finally get the real answer. They never had a short sale packet, they claim they sent a hardship letter and they don’t even have a contact at the lender. Here’s where it gets funny. After working this deal for over a month, 3 business days before sale, the selling agent calls me and says he has added me as a contact to the listing agreement and needs me to do the short sale. Using his words, at the final hour, he needs my help, the seller is a wreck, what can I do? I’m thinking I can bend over for you to kiss my ass. But I never write off anything and trying to contact the bank to see if they will postpone this sale to work out a short sale is a very slim prospect.
This agent is also the agent on another property I have been working on, another property that needs a short sale and now I begin to see what the selling agent is trying to do. When we start talking about price, I tell him straight out, the seller will not and cannot profit frm this in any way. There really is no negotiation for the sales price. The selling agent wants his commission reflected in the deal. I explain to him lenders will not allow that, if he knew about short sales, I shouldn’t have to tell him these things. There are no realtor commissions, no seller profit, if he wants commission he has to work something out with the seller outside of the deal. The seller refuses to part with any of his fraudulently obtained profits but right now, desperately wants to stop these foreclosures. The selling agent will not advise his client as to what he needs to do and is telling his client that a short sale has been refused when it hasn’t, because he doesn’t want to lose his commission. His theory is basically, if he’s not getting anything, neither will anybody else. I have told him, if he doesn’t want to act in the seller’s best interest, let the guy go. Don’t hold him to the listing agreement, let the guy try for a fresh start.
The selling agent is going to let these properties go to auction, not giving his seller a proper chance, and doing it completely out of spite. I have offered to work out something outside of the deal with him to see he is compensated for his trouble but it’s not enough. On the one above where he finally came out and said he needed my help, he STILL will not let me speak to the seller unless I make sure he makes $20,000. He wants 6% commission. no less. I am ready to report him but am not ready to give up on the other two properties. I do not commit fraud, and I conduct business in an ethical manner. What can I do or say to this guy to work with me instead of against me? I, personally do not want to work with the guy at all, but when I’m in a position where I can’t ethically contact a motivated seller who is represented by an agent, and the agent is a snake who is working against his client what can I do?