Not every Sacramento short sale agent processes a file in the same manner. Heck, some of the agents in Sacramento who list a short sale have no idea what they're doing and have never negotiated a shorts sale before but, regardless, there are certain rules everybody must follow. One of those rules is when an agent receives a short sale approval letter, that agent must send the letter to the buyer's agent within 3 days.
More important, if the commission has been reduced from the compensation offered in MLS, the listing agent must also send page 1 of her listing agreement to the buyer's agent. If the listing agent doesn't follow this procedure, the buyer's agent is entitled to the full amount reflected in MLS, and the listing agent must eat the difference -- even if MLS says the agents will split the reduction. Not every agent realizes this. Still, I'm not taking any chances. I follow the rules.
Yesterday, I received an approval letter from the second lender on a Sacramento short sale. The approval letter spelled out the maximum commission. However, I don't yet have the approval letter from the first lender, even though both banks are the same lender. I read the letter a second time and pondered whether I should send it to the buyer's agent. Should I draw a CBC?
The following thought actually crossed my mind: What if the first lender lowers the commission for some reason and I've already sent the CBC to the buyer's agent?
Then it dawned on me. Duh! I'm the buyer's agent!
Well, that doesn't happen very often. See, I don't generally do dual agency, but somebody had to sell this house.
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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.
