Why is it important to pick the best short sale realtor? Firstly, choosing the wrong one may lead you to forfeit $3000.00 moving expense credit that lenders are willing to credit you because your realtor has to negotiate on your behalf to get this money. Secondly, there are a lot of paperwork involved and missing or making a mistake on one of those paperwork may mean several months of delay. And finally, unlike a regular real estate transaction where there are only 2 principals (buyers and sellers), short sale has 3 principal parties- the seller, the buyer and the lender. This makes short sale far more complicated. So picking the best and the right one to represent you is crucial. So to avoid this horrible mistakes, follow the tips below:
- Look for an experience full time realtor who has been in business for at least 10 years. Ten years is a good time because he must have experience at least 1 real estate downturn in the past. And if he is still in business then he must have the necessary fortitude to work on complicated short sale transaction. He must have done at least 5 short sale transactions. Avoid part time realtor.
- Find a realtor who works in your local area. It is difficult for an agent to properly service a listing if he/she is lives more than 30 miles from your house.
- Pick somebody you will be comfortable with. You should be able to ask your realtor to sell your home without a For Sale sign. Sometimes you do not want to let your neighbors know that your house is underwater and you are having financial hardship. Your realtor should be able to sell your home without a for sale sign. Pick a realtor that has pleasing personality and is willing to do the extra mile for you. You will be working with this realtor for some time. You might as well enjoy the experience.
- Pick an agent who is an expert in HAFA(Home affordable Foreclosure Alternative) procedure. Most lenders are participating in HAFA program. Ask him if he has read the 47 page HAFA directive from the Treasury Department.
- Ask him if he offer a guarantee that you will get your $3,000.00 A professional realtor will take the risk of paying you the $3,000.00 if they cannot negotiate for the lender to credit you.
- Look for a realtor that will assist you in finding a place to live after your. Your credit must have been damaged because of your financial hardship. Short sale record in your credit report will not help your credit rating. This will make it more difficult to qualify for a rental property. So you need a realtor who can negotiate on your behalf to find you a place to rent after closing the sale.
- Ask if the realtor can assist in building back your credit back again. This is important because you may want to be in a position to buy again in 2 years or less especially when the prices are down. So a good realtor will guide you (if you want to) on how to rebuild your credit again.
- A good realtor usually is experienced on loan modification as well. Loan modification maybe the best option for you and you may not know this if your realtor do not have experience on such. He may even push you on doing a short sale because that is all he know.
- Your short sale realtor must have great negotiating skills. He will be facing tough professional lender negotiator. Your realtor must be better or you may lose some money that is entitled for you. Test his negotiating skills by giving him some objections and see if you are satisfied with his response.
- Look for a realtor who has a Certified Distress Property Designation. Preferably from Harris Real Estate University. They are one of the best.
And now I would like to recommend the Free report on How to Rebuild your Damaged Credit after a short sale.