Michael Corley

Hi Emily,

I don't know how to respond to your suggestion other to state that I'm a Trulia Pro subscriber receiving weekly Agent reports detailing listing activity on Trulia.com.

I'm not sure if I can track down the links. I'm just a little surprised that this would become a project that I would have to get involved in, given the last report received stated that Trulia acknowledged activity on 12 property listings we've manually uploaded to the site.

Just to be clear, are you suggesting that I research Trulia.com for all of my missing property listings?

Mike Corley - Thu Sep 10 2009, 12:27

Hi BrooklynCyclone,

A short sale is more than likely the only strategy available to you if you're not interested in remaining in the home.

In addition, a short sale is advisable when you are an owner occupant in order to avoid receiving a 1099 from your lenders representing the difference between what was paid off and the balance remaining, and ascribing as income that the IRS will levy a tax on.

Every real estate practitioner in NYC has varying levels of experience in producing these transactions for owners in your position to insure you receive a letter of satisfaction from your mortgage lenders.

Many of the larger Brokerage Agencies in NYC have few agents in their ranks capable of this, as it's fast becoming a specialty business practice in real estate.

There are also quite a number of law firms that offer real property short sales services, but do not handle the one area needed by property owners: valuation and marketing of property.

You'll need to sit with a number of real estate brokers to evaluate their real capacity for producing this transaction for you (and be wary of brokers who attached their services with a law firm,...their fees are exorbitant and most lenders won't pay them)

Our firm has handled 14 short sales this year, all while accomplishing the all important letter of satisfaction for our clients.

Choose your service provider wisely. - Sun Aug 2 2009, 16:33

Prety, you're probably not going to like my answer, but I'll preface it with the following:

Each of the professionals who furnished answers to your question have provided great insight into your dilemna and how your expectations should have been better met with regard to offer.

However, here is where we depart. Agency Disclosure in New York State is required where a substantive contact has been made. The responsibilty to furnish that disclosure is the Agent's. With one small catch.

Agency Law in New York State is written in favor of providing Obedience, Undivided Loyalty, Disclosure, Duty to Account, Reasonable Care and Confidentiality TO THE PRINCIPAL THE AGENT REPRESENTS.

And a Seller's Agent does not represent the interests of the Buyer.

Where most buyers fall into the gray area when dealing with an agent about a property listing is how the contact evolved. If you phoned or emailed the Agent requesting an appointment to view the property without requesting formal disclosure in writing, it could already have been furnished in the ad.

The says the Agent is required to provide disclosure...it doesn't say HOW they're suppose to do it. In addition,
" a substantive contact " creates the gray area, as the majority of agents interpret this to mean when an offer is being made.

While I don't blame most consumers shopping for a home for being unaware of the subtleties when dealing with Agents, it does represent a failure on the part of the regulatory agency inside the state to furnish consumer information to create formal boundaries for shoppers to engage licensees.

Now, here's the kicker....the National Association of Realtors is aware that the gray area exists.

You can visit the link below at http://www.CorleyRE.com to read the entire Agency Disclosure form as prescribed by Article 12A of the Real Property Law of New York State - Sun Jun 21 2009, 11:44