A Quick Smooth Short Sale is No Big Deal!

A Quick Smooth Short Sale...No Big Deal!

The contract offer was written on June 18th, the contract was accepted on July 7th, bank approval was given on July 13th and closing took place today August 25!

A Quick Smooth Short Sale is No Big Deal...as long as you have the right team.

Our team consisted of a terrific listing agent Robert Ellin, title attorney Jeff Margolies,  Margaret Rome and Mortgage Mama.

We also had the most cooperative and pleasant seller plus  wonderful buyers!

The team worked together in harmony keeping each one updated and getting everything the bank wanted in a timely manner.

In my opinion, it is the relationship of the listing agent with the bank that makes or breaks a short sale. Robert Ellin was a delight to work with and on top of each and every detail.

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I like the laminated survey Supreme Title gives to the buyer.

                                        
                                              
                                                 

I had the best buyers in the world! At first we were looking for                a townhouse with garage. We were lucky it was not available because we found this wonderful single family home with a two car garage in a neighborhood with lots of their friends!

 

                                      

                                             

  

Always  thought M&M stood for Margaret in Maryland but Bridget said otherwise..Mortgage Mama. Can we both be right? Absolutely!

A Quick Smooth Short Sale is No Big Deal...as long as you have the right team.

The Active Rain Realtor Nationwide Survey about Maryland.

The Active Rain Realtor Nationwide Survey about Maryland.

I COULD HAVE SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT In 2010

My market area is Baltimore Maryland and it is moderate for this time of year.

My Current Housing Market Conditions... Our sellers are reducing prices and buyers are buying.

Buyers are still calling but seem to be afraid to move quickly. Homes priced well below the market are getting more showings. Sales are occurring but at a slower rate.

Our condo market prices are down and there are some excellent buys. One reason ...homes are not selling at the same rate as a few years ago. Most of our condos have always been purchased with cash by sellers when downsizing. The proceeds from the big home goes for the purchase. For the first time buyer, it is more difficult, sometimes possible to get financing on these buildings.

For the first time I have two short sales in my inventory.

The calls from buyers are picking again after the " frenzy" prior to the tax incentive expiration. Sellers are having to be aggressive with their price in order to get more showings. We no longer can to do the three "Ps" (put a sign up, put in MLS, Pray) but have to think outside the box to expose listings so they stand out from the rest. Good internet coverage including blogging, unusual open houses and individual websites are a must for today's listings... as well as media advertising. Homes must be "seen" so they can be sold. My May and June have 6 transactions for settlement and I am negotiating a contract as I write .

With good inventory that is well priced, very low interest rates, it is time to buy in Maryland.

I think many people will be looking back saying I COULD HAVE SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT In 2010

The Active Rain Realtor Nationwide Survey about Maryland.

Can Donkeys Fly? Changing My Approach to Short Sale Education

Can Donkeys Fly? Changing My Approach to Short Sale Education

I have read and benefited greatly from both of Tim's books!.

"..it does not matter how many contracts you get signed, it matters how many sales you close...After all, it takes at least as much time to work a short sale that does not get the bank's approval as it does to work on one that closes"

Tim has a way of making everything so simple and easy to understand. I will be checking out http://www.ShortSaleNegotiatingSpecialist.com

Via Tim Burrell (RE/MAX):

Learn Negotiating Skills So You Don't Negotiate Like This!

It took me 17 years of doing short sales to realize that I needed to change how I taught short sales to Realtors and their assistants. I teach a class approved by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission for continuing education credit, and I have written a book endorsed by the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS) of the National Association of Realtors called Create A Short Sale, Your Guide Through the Short Sale Maze. I believe that Realtors are going to rescue America by doing more short sales, thereby decreasing foreclosures with the result that the sellers, buyers and the neighborhoods are all better off. Short sales are better for everyone in Real Estate, but they are very hard on Realtors.

Many of the courses that teach Realtors how to do short sales are good and a lot of the members of ActiveRain participate in making short sales better. Thank you for your good work. However, I realized that there is a critical part of short sale education that is not getting enough attention. I also wrote Create A Great Deal, the Art of Real Estate Negotiating, which CRS also endorses, so my emphasis is teaching negotiating skills.

Many of the courses teach you how to get short sale listings, get contracts signed and submit short sale packages, which is good. However, it does not matter how many contracts you get signed, it matters how many sales you close. I have been able to close all but one of my short sales in 17 years. So, I realized that the part of short sales that needs more instruction is negotiating with the banks and having the right people for that job.

Most Realtors are great at dealing with people and putting deals together, with appropriate personality types. Most of them are not good at detail work, persistent follow through and repetitively calling banks. In other words, they do not have the attrributes to succeed at an essential part of the short sale process: negotiating with banks and closing the sale. I have been trying to teach Realtors how to do the entire process of a short sale, which is like teaching a donkey to fly. You can get them off the ground with a lot of energy but they are not constituted to stay with it to complete the course, and the landing is not pretty.

So, my new course teaches negotiating techniques that work gracefully with the bank, emphasizing collaborative negotiating where you work together with the loss mitigation negotiatior to come to a Win-win result. Also, I teach team members and virtual assistants to do the detail work that they do much better than most Realtors. So, my version of short sale success is a team sport.

If you would like to learn more about this different portion of short sale education, go to http://www.ShortSaleNegotiatingSpecialist.com . This niche of short sale education can change your success rate for short sales dramatically, so you can close them all.

After all, it takes at least as much time to work a short sale that does not get the bank's approval as it does to work on one that closes --- and the ones that close pay much better.