short sale with agent involved

Foreclosures, Short Sales, Tax Foreclosures
1

I found a house that I would like to try to buy as a short sale. It is listed with a realestate agent. Is it possible to bypass the agent and go straight to the bank or will the agent still get a commission? The house is going to the sheriffs auction in a month.

Thank You
Jason

2

The agent’s broker has a contract (“the listing”)…even if you bypass they will still get paid.

Keith

3

Thanks for the info.

Jason

4

please explain how short sale work

5

It is possible to get a release from the listing, but frankly if the realtor has done their job they deserve their commission. If the sale is coming soon, you could ask for the agent to discount their commision to help get the deal done (this needs to be done with finesse). Remember, the lender will pay half the commission, so make an offer that is a win for the lender, but still figures commission and closing costs into your offer.
Hope this helps.

All the best,
Shawn

6

I think the future will have a lot of listing agents making deals to the bank for us. There are just to many people in foreclosure for this not to become standard.

7

It’s a specialized area, Ramona. There’s been more trainings and education to agents involving how to do short sales, but 97% of agents aren’t interested since it’s not a typical sale. Preforeclosures are definitely a lucrative market, but it’s often not worth it to the agent because you’re dealing with a more stressful situation that isn’t guaranteed to turn out right.

Often, the seller is asking us for legal advice and won’t contact a lawyer or mortgage specialist. It’s against our code of ethnics and legal duties to step beyond the role of agent, so puts us in a compromising position. Combined with the extra work, legal liabilities, and relative difficulty, I don’t see a agents flocking to short sales anytime soon.

8

hi Jason,

this a good opportunity for you to get a realtor on your team. The lender will most likely require the property be listed to do a short sale anyway. The listing agent will not get a full commision but they will get @ 3%.

good luck,

Tony