Short Sale Tricks

Halloween may be just around the corner, but you hear short sale horror stories all year.  Do you ever wonder if you need to ask Trick-or-Treat before showing a short sale?  Not if you are working with an experienced short sale agent.

What makes an agent an experienced short sale agent?  Is it the number of listings?  Trick.  Is it the number of closed short sales?  Or is it the number of short sales closed with different lenders and lender combinations?  Treat.

As an experienced short sale agent, I have to understand how Lender A works with Lender B.  I just closed a short sale the first of October where I knew that Lender A on the first mortgage would be fairly easy to get approved. I also knew what percentage (5%) of the second mortgage loan balance they would approve. Sounds simple, but not so fast. The second mortgage in this instance was for $325,000 and Lender B requires 20% of their loan balance.

So what needs to be pulled out of your agent bag of tricks to get this deal closed?

Step 1. The property needs to be marketed for a cash-heavy buyer.
Step 2. Have buyer’s agent call you before showing.
Step 3. Qualify the agent’s buyer before letting them show.
Step 4. Only show to qualified buyers.
By implementing these same steps above, I was able to find the right match to buy this property. Total time on the market? Six months with less than 60 days from pending to closed!