I have gotten that question asked to me a few times when I’m talking to people about trying to do a short sale with their homes. There seem to be quite a few realtors in my area that are versed in doing short sales. So what is an effective counter argument to that question?
Dean
I would think to tell them that with a realtor they will likely sit on the market for 3-6 months, pay 6% in fees, and not have a gaurantee that a buyer will come along.
If you are looking to buy it yourself, or have buyers lined up - you can eliminate all of those problems.
With the new law there is ZERO benefit by using a Realtor when dealing with short sales…
Very true but they are necessary - key is to find one that thinks outsiide the box. I have an awesome set up and my realtors are great.
Point out to them that realtors are trying to sell MULTIPLE houses at once and you would be focused on just theirs. OR, realtor’s trying to sell their house, you are trying to buy it.
Could you explain some of the details of this a bit more? I believe you’re refering to George’s new mortgage help law. It sounds like you’re saying that there were benefits before, but now they’re gone.
In many markets the bank wants to see the home listed on MLS since you have to make ever possible try to sell the home for full market value. Some banks will not deal unless it is on the MLS. Some banks will actually tell the realtor to lower the price by 2-5K every 2 weeks till a contract is accepted.
Realtors will get paid a commission from the bank. As a homeowner, if your short saling the home, who cares about the 3 or 6% commission. Your not making money on the home and the bank will pay the commissions along with all other seller fees.
MLS listing just gives more exposure and with a competent realtor on your side they should be able to weed out the tire kickers…
Do the lenders check MLS? My short sales have listing agreements but are not listed on MLS. Just a sign in the yard. (We seem to get more callls with the sign anyway.) If they were on MLS, I wouldn’t have buyers to put in a contract.
Lenders can check the MLS as they have access . What do you mean you have listing agreements but just a sign in the yard. Do you have a realtor sign which your getting phone calls from or just a genric For Sale sign?
I see nothing wrong with the MLS. It is a great tool. It is true the best deals are found without the MLS, but what I like about the MLS short sale listings are, I can just go check out the places and then have a realtor summit offers. In 1 week I can summit over 50 offers and just negoitate from there and if 1 or 2 are accepted or pan out in a week or so I am happy.
I can’t flip them to an end buyer if they are on MLS and they don’t get placed on MLS because we put in a contract and flip it. The listing agreement is in place so a Realtor is “assigned” to the transaction.
I wondered which lenders might look at this as a problem. Not the flipping part but not having the listing on MLS. For those I know doing this, have not had a problem but I ask around so in case I run into the problem, I’ll know how to handle it.
Careful. The world is different and ever more so the world of short sales. First of all, not all realtors really know how to do short sales. On average a “non-expert” will only have a 10-15% chance of closing a short sale listing successfully. If a homeowner wants to list their home with a realtor hoping for a short sale, they HAVE to make sure the realtor is an EXPERT at short sales.
Bank requirements are changing by the minute and it’s not safe to assume anything about a short sale, especially if you are the homeowner trying to sell. Done properly, the distressed homeowner’s obligations should be completely wiped clean, with no tax consequences for discharged debt. Done improperly and the homeowner could still be liable for years for the bank’s losses in the short sale.
It’s true that short sale properties will take longer to close, but normally no one but the bank pays the commission. Neither seller nor short sale buyer need worry about forking out for the realtor’s commission.
We’re the experts in our area. We’ve listed, bought them ourselves and even negotiated SS for other realtors If you have any questions contact me through our site:
www.RealEstateDealHunters.com