I spend most of my Saturdays writing articles about home buying and home selling for About.com. Yesterday, I wrote an article about whether a seller with a real estate license can represent herself as a short sale agent. Short sale agency relationships can be complicated. I should have been writing about whether an agent can represent herself as a buyer's agent for a short sale. And maybe I'll write that one next week.
In some cases, it's easier to represent yourself but it's not always wiser. I have helped agents buy short sales in Sacramento but let's make no mistake about whom I represent. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I generally represent only the seller. It is rare for me to do dual representation or engage in dual agency. My focus is typically on the seller alone.
In any case, it didn't faze me when a buyer's agent wrote an offer to buy one of my short sale listings. The LLC is a cash buyer. The home is a fixer. Good match. Not only that, but the LLC is a reasonable cash buyer that is willing to meet the demands of the likes of IndyMac.
Early on in the escrow, we signed and executed a purchase eligibility certification. However, I'm thinking the buyer's agent did not read it but just signed it. The PEC says: No buyer or agent of the buyer shares a business interest with the seller, the borrower or the mortgagee.
Then, this week we received the short sale approval letter from IndyMac. This is when I discover the buyer's agent cannot close the transaction. The reason the buyer's agent cannot close is because of the terms and conditions contained in IndyMac's short sale approval letter. It basically says the buyer's agent cannot receive a commission if the buyer's agent has a business relationship with the buyer. It reiterates the PEC.
It further clearly states the buyer cannot operate as a buyer's agent in the transaction. As the final clincher, the approval terms state the buyer cannot flip the home within 120 days, and the buyer will not and cannot agree to those terms. Every arm's length affidavit has its own terms. If an investor wants to buy and hold, that's acceptable. But buy and sell is unacceptable and prohibited in this case. At least not an immediate buy and sell. Flippers are out of luck with an IndyMac short sale.
Photo: Adam Weintraub, a bathhouse in Hot Springs, Arkansas
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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.
