Some guy called me a few days ago demanding to know if I was writing about his company. He blathered on and on as if I knew him when I do not. I felt like saying: Hey, buddy, if the shoe fits, wear it. But no, because I wasn't sure who he was. The one thing I did know was he was getting angrier and angrier. Working himself up into a lather. You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you. I hung up on Carly Simon.
Then, I posted a video in my blog last week at the suggestion of an Active Rain member. She wanted to see Pia and the Crazy Chicken. All PureBites treats belong to Pia. Our other two cats can't have any when she is in the room. Sure enough, a few days after posting the video, I received an email from the PureBites company wanting to know if they could use her video on their website.
You write it, they will come. Words are powerful, and there is no place as powerful to use your words as with a short sale bank. I realize there are short sale negotiators who do not negotiate. Just like there are real estate agents who do not realize they are salespeople. They prefer to think of themselves as anything else than a salesperson, and all I'm gonna say is their 1099s probably reflect that absurd notion.
As a Sacramento short sale agent, I negotiate short sales and sell homes. I don't throw paper at the bank and hope for an approval letter. In fact, there are times a bank will simply reject the short sale. Other agents would give up. I don't give up. See, I realize that the bank just doesn't understand. Because if the bank understood, the bank would approve the short sale.
If I get that rare short sale rejected, I write a letter to the bank's negotiator. Every letter is different. That's because every short sale is different, and every short client has a unique situation. A good short sale negotiator does not throw in the towel when the bank says no. A good negotiator writes a letter, lays out her client's situation, builds a framework the bank can accept and approve, by any means necessary.
Last week I got a negotiator to back down on a charge-off. The bank, GMAC, wanted $30,000 from somebody in the transaction, and it wasn't going to happen. After my letter, the negotiator called to say she would accept a minimum payment from the first lender. In another, a negotiator at Chase Bank flat out rejected the short sale. He said the seller did not have a hardship. After he read my letter, the negotiator at Chase sent an email to say he was approving it, and we will have the short sale approval letter on Monday.
Words are powerful. A strong argument can win your case. If you're thinking about doing a short sale in the Sacramento four-county area, make sure you hire a short sale agent who can rebuff the bank. I doubt you will get this kind of service from a third-party negotiator. Be careful, because third-party negotiators are primarily paper pushers. The best of all worlds is to hire a short sale agent in Sacramento who will not only sell your home but will personally negotiate that short sale for you. I'll stick my reputation on that fact.
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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.
