Some short sales will forever stick with this Sacramento short sale agent because the sellers are such delightful people. In the end, it's all about helping the seller. And sometimes I work with sellers whom I suspect would be raked over the coals if their situation fell into less than honorable hands. There are some people who make me want to take extra special care of them; I feel protective. Like my recent HAFA short sale closing for this elderly couple in their 80s. They reminded me of my grandparents, long gone.
The first buyers who committed to buy this short sale were not very nice people. They agreed to put down 25% and get a conventional loan. But after we received short sale approval, these buyers changed their minds. However, not before they made the sellers move out, 5 days prior to closing. Then, after promising to close escrow, they canceled the transaction and left the sellers out on the street.
They canceled because they had somehow decided to change their financing status midstream without authorization and put down 20%. But their lender would not approve such a down payment because the property had a non-conforming structure in the back yard. A seller can't sue such creatures when they don't have any money.
Enter buyer #2. She agreed to put down 25%. We were clear with the buyer's agent and his mortgage broker that the down payment had to be 25% to get a loan on this property. Oh, but this that and the other thing, the mortgage broker did a dance. No, we insisted, the down payment had to be 25% to get a loan. Read my lips. Buyer went back and forth as we negotiated with the bank. The second loan meanwhile went to charge-off. The buyer's agent and mortgage broker were stunned to learn that she really did need to put down 25% as she agreed to do in the beginning. At the last minute, this buyer changed her mind and refused to honor her contract.
The poor sellers. They were distraught. But I was not about to give up, even though the sellers were almost ready to walk away. See, this is the secret to a short sale. You can't give up. Just because buyers cancel or lenders refuse to negotiate, if you keep pushing, you can make something work. You need perseverance. Creativity helps. Other agents would cancel the listing and get on with their lives. Well, other agents probably would not want to tackle a HAFA short sale in the first place. They have more common sense and less patience than this agent.
Enter buyer #3. Time to change tactics. No loan problems here, because this buyer could pay cash. I called the first lender and asked if I could produce a CMA showing declining values, would that bank accept a lower price. Turned out the bank wasn't really interested in receiving market value as much as it was in dumping this loan. Every so often it works out this way. We accepted the offer and sent the paperwork to both banks.
The second lender was not as generous. Because the loan had gone to charge-off, the lender wanted an enormous sum of money. It did not agree to participate in HAFA. This was a different department from the negotiator who previously had approved the HAFA. Rules change after charge-offs. Banks aren't required to approve a borrower for HAFA; it's voluntary. However, there was no enormous sum of money to give to the bank. It looked like we had reached a dead-end.
At that point, I took a deep breath and said no. This bank was simply misinformed. I could not in good conscience allow the bank to throw the seller under the bus. Not this little old man and his ill wife. So, I closed my email, shut off my cell and wrote the bank a letter. I explained the sellers' circumstances and literally begged the negotiator to reconsider. I must have touched a heart. The next thing I knew the bank said it would agree to take $6,000 from the first lender and release the seller from liability.
I almost cried with relief. At this point, I think I cared more about the situation than the seller did. There comes a time when sellers can become apathetic, and I believe these sellers were about there. But in the end, they received $3,000 and a full release of liability. The HAFA short sale closed yesterday. Those other two buyers? I'll remember them and the horse they rode in on as well. Just not fondly. A bigger person would forgive. I'm not that big.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
