Real stories about real Sacramento short sales brought to you by your Sacramento short sale agent, Elizabeth Weintraub. For every dragged out, convoluted, problem-child short sale in Sacramento, there are typically 2 or 3 that close with very few delays. For obvious reasons, though, those stories are not as interesting as the short sales that cause anxiety and pain.
Two Elk Grove short sales that closed the week before last went off without a hitch. We didn't have any problems with the sales prices, which is generally because we have priced the short sale correctly. Of the four that closed last week, two were smooth sailing as well. The short sale closing process generally moves along at a brisk pace because buyers are eager to get into their new home, and their agents are eager to help them.
I suspect if given a choice, a buyer's agent would prefer to not work on a Sacramento short sale. That's because they take too long to close, and therefore it takes too long for the agents to get paid. There is also a bit of uncertainty as to whether the short sale will get approved. Although, buyer's agents who work on my short sales tend not to face that dilemma.
One of my closings, another Elk Grove short sale, was a real nail biter. First, the seller had hired a lawyer about a year ago to negotiate her short sale. Do you need a lawyer for a short sale? Sometimes. Depends on the situation. All sellers should get legal and tax advice, but not every seller needs a lawyer to negotiate. Many short sale agents make an excellent short sale negotiator, providing they have experience and a hands-on willingness to tackle the job.
This short sale went on the market in October of last year. We received multiple offers and the home quickly sold. We sent the offer to the lawyer. The lawyer obtained a release of liability for the seller, and we went into escrow. A couple weeks later, the buyers decided they would like to renegotiate the sales price with the bank. I had told the buyers no re-negotiation. No price concessions. No repairs. But that was their excuse. It was a case of cold feet, not price. They canceled.
Second set of buyers promised the moon and the stars as well. Swore up and down they would wait for short sale approval. Put their earnest money deposit into escrow. Their agent agreed to not write any more offers. The sellers decided to bypass the lawyer this time because it would cost them another fee. So, I offered to get an approval letter for them.
For no particular reason, the second set of buyers canceled. The sellers were heartbroken. There is no explaining why buyers cancel. Some receive news that their jobs are in jeopardy. Others find another home they like better. Some probably get divorced, remarried and raise 3 children during the time they wait for short sale approval.
By the time we hit our 5th set of first-time home buyers, the agents who represented these people were from out-of-area. Call me jaded, but there always seems to be an extra set of problems when the agents handling the buyers are not from around these parts. Much of the time it's because the agents are related to the buyers or they have some other really weird reason why they are not selling in their own community -- such as maybe they don't really sell real estate full-time.
In this transaction, we had 2 agents working together -- I don't know why. One of them was a mortgage broker, though, and that in itself is a big red flag. It's hard enough to specialize in mortgages -- I wouldn't in a million years expect a mortgage broker to also be proficient at selling real estate. That would be like me trying to do a mortgage. Not gonna happen. We all have our specialties, and we should stick with what we know and do best. But California law allows anybody with proper licensing to do both. Go figure.
The file was too complicated, said the second mortgage broker who took it over. Escrow told me after it closed that it was a good idea I didn't hear everything that had gone on. Well, I suspected we had the blind-leading-the-blind and a buyer who didn't have two 2 nickels to rub together, but I had faith this would close by the hair of its chinny-chin-chin. And it did. I got short sale extension. Twice from Wells Fargo. 13 months later and 5 buyers down the tubes, but by golly, we closed.
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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.
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The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
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There's a joke in there somewhere. How many buyers does it take to close a Sacramento Short Sale?
Yeah, Chris Ann, and buyer's agents wonder why we are so stringent with our rules. Stuff like this is why. And even with all of the safeguards in place, we can't stop it from happening. I imagine it's 10 times worse for agents who work without safeguards.
Elizabeth, there's one word for you and this short sale - Perservance. The standard agent would have given up long before you did... Kudos!
And I agree with your statement. "Call me jaded, but there always seems to be an extra set of problems when the agents handling the buyers are not from around these parts. Much of the time it's because the agents are related to the buyers or they have some other really weird reason why they are not selling in their own community -- such as maybe they don't really sell real estate full-time."