You can call up a company to complain about a problem, and you'll probably get shuffled around. That's if you can even get through to the company. You might even hope that pressing zero will get you a live person, but half the time it just disconnects you. Adds to your frustration. So you send an email, but nobody responds. Well, I've stopped doing that. I get much further by blogging about it. Better and faster results.
Know why? Because everybody and their uncles have set up Google Alerts for themselves. So I accomplish several things by this. The first is I get all of that crap off my chest, whatever it is that is bugging me. Second, hopefully my blog is somewhat amusing to people and informational. Third, often the company calls and offers suggestions or otherwise fixes the problem, which means I don't have to lift my big, fat butt outta my chair.
The trick is you have to put the company name into your blog. Maybe link to that company. You have to be careful what you say about people and their companies. You don't have carte blanche to blast a reputation. Just be truthful and factual. The truth and the facts tend to keep you out of court. You can share your opinion as long as it's not hateful or damaging. It's just your opinion or a story about something that happened to you.
Like, here is a story about a couple of things that happened yesterday. I received 2 offers on 2 different short sales. As a Sacramento short sale agent, my objective is to get those short sales into escrow but the more important focus is to close those short sales. I never lose sight of that focus. I have developed tunnel vision that way.
One of the biggest obstacles I deal with as a short sale agent is explaining to buyers and their buyer's agents that the home is purchased in its "as is" condition. Banks do not want to pay for repairs on a short sale. Banks do not want to renegotiate the price of a short sale after issuing approval. These are not REO transactions. These are short sales. Short sales are different because the bank has no incentive to approve your short sale.
Yet, even though I might give the buyer's agent a roof inspection, buyers often still try to submit a Request for Repair after a home inspection. They will all of a sudden ask for a new roof. They're not gonna get a new roof. The seller is not allowed to pay for repairs. If the seller has money for repairs, the bank wants that money. The bank is not paying for a new roof, either.
It's cheaper and easier to find a new buyer.
As a result, I have begun inserting verbiage into my counter offers. I say something like: "Buyer understands home is sold in its "as is" condition and there will be no repairs for any reason, whatsoever, no matter what, under any circumstances, ever in a million years."
One of the buyers yesterday eagerly signed that type of counter offer. He's thoroughly inspected the property, I surmise. Or maybe his agent explained how a short sale works. The other buyer, all of a sudden, needed to hold off on signing the counter. She's going back for a second look. Aha! Maybe I am making a difference.
In the interium, I will continue to closely scrutinize my transactions, identify the weakest link and correct it. That's the secret to closing short sales in Sacramento.
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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.
