The truth is, the realtor representing the Seller is who needs to have the experience, not the the buyer agent. The buyer agent needs to have enough experience to advise their buyer to stay away from a short sale if buyer needs to be in a home within the next 60 days.

The best thing a Buyer Agent can do, is stipulate in the contract a neutral third party to process the short sale. This way, you can obtain un-filtered communication from the person processing. Also, to protect the buyer, the Agent should INSIST on a Signed an executed contract that simply states in a Special Provisions "Contract contingent upon lender acceptance. In the event lender counter's buyer's offer, Seller grants buyer First RIght of Refusal to meet Lender's Counter-Offer". This way you are not the offer the Listing Agent used to get the Short Sale process going, just to receive higher and better offers over the following 8 weeks. Best of luck!

Fri Apr 25 2008, 16:40

Trust trumps experience. But, maybe BOTH!

Wed Apr 16 2008, 05:35

If your current Realtor is Aunt Sally who is part time and does a casual transaction here and there, I would suggest you look for alternative representation to handle your short sale.

If you current Realtor is a strong negotiator, a good business person, and has resources for guidance and info on short sales, then it may be wise to stay with a trusted individual who is committed to your interests. If your Realtor does not have experience w/ short sales, but has a broker, strong ties to an attorney with short sale experience, or other relationships with experienced pros, your agent may be able to represent you well. This also assumes your Realtor has closed several real estate transactions and has a strong foundation from which to expand into short sales.

Good luck!

Tue Apr 15 2008, 20:12

John is right, you do not want your short sale to be someone's first experiance. They can be very complicated and time consuming and you could be the loser. Go with experiance in this matter, believe me! I have been there.

Tue Apr 15 2008, 20:08

If you are happy with your current Realtor and s/he served you well in the past, it is likely you will get good service again and you are working with a known entity. short sales can be and usually are difficult but if your Realter does her/his homework, you will probably be well served. Do your own research on short sales so you can converse intelligently and will know what to espect.

Tue Apr 15 2008, 19:56

I just closed a deal that had a first and a second with two companies that were owned by Citi-Residential Lending. They were separate LLC copmanies under the massive CITI umbrella. I will say the the first mortgage was very easy to get an answer - only took about two weeks. However, the second mortgage was a bit more difficult. WE did get it closed, but it took some heavy negotiating on my part to do so. I will say that CITI is one of the more challenging companies to work with.

It ALWAYS pays to work witha short sale specialist if you are going to di a short sale. If not, you may as well simply hand your keys over to the bank.

Let me know if you want my help, I have a few connections in your area who are MASTER short sale negotiators.

Tue Apr 15 2008, 19:30