If you don't know how to evaluate the answer to a question, why do you ask it? That's what I'd like to say to buyer's agents who call to fire off questions like a machine gun. As a Sacramento short sale agent, I can appreciate the fact a buyer's agent wants to make sure that their transaction will close. A buyer's agent doesn't want to work for free, plus they want to protect their buyers.
The fact that they are asking me all those questions tells me two things. First, they don't do enough in short sales in Sacramento to know who the top producing short sales agents are. If they would run a quick search in MLS on closed production they would get that answer, and then they wouldn't have to ask such idiotic questions of a listing agent.
Second, it tells me they don't know what to do with the answers. They've been told by their broker or mentor to find out who the banks are in the short sale. As if THAT will tell them anything. They don't bother to ask if the bank is the servicer or the investor. They don't ask if the loan has mortgage insurance. They don't even ask if the lender is using Equator. They certainly do not ask if the loan is hard money.
They just want to give the appearance that they know what they are doing when they do not.
I especially love the buyer's agents who ask about my seller's hardship. I've had them demand to know the contents of my seller's hardship letter. Well, you know what? My fiduciary relationship with my seller prevents me from disclosing the hardship. I'm not gonna tell ya. I'm gonna tell ya the short sale will most likely close, and it will close in the most expedient manner possible. I base that on the tons of short sales I close each and every year.
You want personal information about my seller? You're barking up the wrong tree, there, fella.
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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.
