Luis,

Communication is the best key in any relationship and suggest that you voice your concerns to your agent since he has worked with with in submitting offers. Contrary to popular belief, even though now is a great time to buy, it is essentially a sellers market where inventory is short and properties are flying off the market. I just sold a home in La Habra within it being listed on the market in 2 hours! I am a Broker Associate with the Prudential office in Brea so feel free to contact me with any additional questions

I wonder if Luis was successful in making a decision and a purchase, since he wrote this post OVER A YEAR AGO.

You have to remember that the Listing Agent works for the Seller, not you. There are such relationships as dual agency, but to do it legally and ethically it is just a passing of the paper back and forth. I have seen a lot of cases where the buyer gets burned bad. Although there are cases where it works out of course! =o)The market is very competitive right now. Most buyers do not have the time or the expertise.....Having a buyers agent on your side has deemed to be very valuable. I would talk to your agent about your concerns..it is normal to be offering above listing price tho. hth~

This is a very difficult market for buyers in these areas...especially in the $200K-$300K range. If you are not happy with your realtor and do not have a buyer representation agreement, feel free to call me and see if I can help. I often get my REO and short sale offers accepted, and would love to discuss strategy with you. However, I am often seeing cash buyers who are outbidding those who have limits due to loans and appraisals onj the properties...but who'd want to overpay for a home in this market anyway? I don't mean to speak badly of the competition, but some of the "assembly lines" that are handling these types of listings in the area are not doing a good job of doing it right -- and you need a strong and ethical agent to represent your interests. Feel free to call and meet, if you'd like.
Bonnie Scribner (Award-winning agent)
Century 21 Discovery (#1 in North OC for 11 years and ranks in top 1% of C21 offices worldwide)
Award-winning agent
Bonnie@BonnieTheRealtor.com

Feel free to email or call. I am also a State licensed appraiser and can advise you on the true value.... not what in many cases incorrectly being reported with reo's and short sales. See my website, email, or call me.

Umm Emily, the banks do allow double ending. WAMU, who has how many foreclosures in this state, is one. Also, more agents going after REO's are not driving up the prices to FMV. The value of a house is what someone is willing to pay for it. The REO properties are continuing lower, not being driven up right now.

I expect that your agent is correct that there are many offers made on these houses. Many short sales are priced very low in hopes of creating an auction and driving up the price.

In a short sale, the seller is asking the bank to accept less than it is owed on the mortgage. The bank is often slow to respond, sometimes taking as long as six weeks.

The result is often a lot of frustration with short sales, though they can be a great deal when you actually get them.

Short sales take patience and the advice of a good, knowledgeable agent. Be sure that your agent has the knowledge to help you, and then prepare to wait.

With the short sales, it's not about the listing agent wanting to make a higher commission. The banks will NOT allow "double ending", meaning they will not pay the listing agent more money because they bring in the buyer. (98% of the time)

Please use your own agent. It doesn't cost you anything more. Just use an agent who knows how the ENTIRE short sale process is completed. When I bring in a buyer to a short sale listing I will Interview the agent to see how familiar they are with doing a short sale. If they dont' know anything I move on to another listing OR see if I can be the one who negotiates with the bank. I am an experienced agent with handling Short Sales.
Great Deals can be had with a short sale property. The banks have certain ratios that they use to determine how much less their appraisal, they will take. Because less buyers agents are going after short sales, means more choices for you. You have GOT to tell your agent, that once you submit an offer on a short sale listing & it is accepted by the seller, they MUST change the MLS to read that it is in Pending or Back up offer Status.

More agents are going after the REO properties which is only driving the prices up further to Fair Market Value, they are easier to work with & yes the banks respond in less time. The banks are now pricing REOs at ridiculously low numbers to create Auction-like situations and they'll wait a couple of weeks before submitting offers to the bank. So even if you find an REO that Just came on the market & you're all excited because you were the FIRST to submit an offer, it doesn't matter, the bank is waiting for 30 offers to come in & then they'll choose the best one.

Feel free to contact me should you have any questions.

Luis,

Short sales are a different animal than a bank owned. The sellers need to get the bank to agree to let them sell it for less than they owe. The banks are overwhelmed and take many months to move. If you want to buy a short sale, you need to be patient and submit a lot of offers. The listing agents need to get an offer in to even start the process, which is why they often list them incredibly low. The bank still needs a broker price opinion to figure out what to sell it for. At the same time, they also have to work with the owner to confirm that they cannot afford the home. There is a lot of documentation for this and it takes time.

You will find that the bank owned properties (where the bank has already taken the property back) are easier to work with. They usually respond to offers within a day or two.

As someone who has bought two REO's, one with the listing agent representing us and the other with our own agent working with us, I can tell you NOT to have the listing agent represent you. The listing agents have to submit all offers. Your agent is working hard for you by submitting all these offers. The problem is not with the agent, rather it's the nature of short sales. If you want to buy now, look at REO's and sellers with equity who are truly motivated to sell their property.

Your agent is probably right about the multiple offers above the asking price....often times short sales are priced way below market to drive interest and obtain an offer so that a complete short sale package can be submitted to the bank. You should ask your agent to help you track the progress of each property upon which you have submitted an offer to find out if it actually closes (only about 10% do) and at what price.

In regards to contacting the listing agent, I think you should consider the impact of having the listing agent represent you as a Buyer in a purchse very carefully. Is it really possible for one agent to effectively represent the best interests of a Buyer and a Seller in the same transaction? The goals of each party are diametrically opposed. As the Sellers representative, the agent is supposed to be negotiating the highest price possible along with terms most beneficial to the Seller. As a Buyers representative, the agent is supposed to be negotiating the lowest price possible with the terms most beneficial to the Buyer. It seems to me that someone is going to get the short end of that stick! As a listing agent myself, I never represent both sides in the same transaction.

I like your agent am working with a couple clients that have made offers on short sales. We don't always get them. You said your realtor is putting the offers , because the offer is made is no guarantee that it will be accepted. There was one house my client wanted, we submitted an offer along with 13 other people. In todays market ,thereare many short sales. The banks decide who will be awarded the house in the end. They look for the strongest buyer and offer they can get. It can be a long process for the buyer and his client.but in some cases worth the hard work and wait