Role of the realtor during the short sale process?

Question

I wanted to get a general idea out there what the role of the realtor is during the short sale process besides the listing of the property?

I'm working with a realtor on a short sale and she doesn't seem to be very proactive or involved in the process. I always have to call her and ask what's going on. I told her that she was put on the authorization to release information form so I figured she would take the bull by the horns and get down to it. Not the case.

We had a BPO cancelled on the subject property due to a snowstorm. I called the realtor to ask her was the BPO re-scheduled. She said she was waiting for them to call her to get it rescheduled.  A few days later I called again to see if the reschedule date had been set. She responded that the attorney has to set the reschedule date since she's handling the short sale.

I eventually called the lender and asked for a re-schedule of the BPO. The lender responded that they would just go with an exterior BPO. (Not sure if that's a good thing, more about that in another post).

Maybe I set my expectations to high regarding the realtors role in the process. I did the basics. (Find the seller, get them to sign a listing agreement with the realtor, schedule a BPO, etc.)  I never took a short sale course. I don't know the fine points of short sale execution from start to finish.
I just know that I have 2 of them currently on my table and I'm doing the best I can to make it to the end with out mucking it up.

I would just like some feedback from you guys about realtor involvement vs investor involvement vs attorney involvement in the process.

-Mike

Michael G. · Answer

Thanks Mary Ann - You are correct. I am the investor. Ive learned that maintaining control in any transaction is key to its success. I've tried to do that here. I found the seller when the house was vacant,found the realtor (maybe the wrong one), paired the seller and the realtor to get the listing agreement signed. gained access to the house. made sure to follow up with the seller to get the tax returns in. I took my foot off the gas since the realtor said the sellers attorney would handle the negotiation and subsequently the process seems to have slowed to a virtual crawl.  I'm with you on the whole drive by BPO thing. Good suggestion on the once a week communication. I'll take it. The sellers attorney is supposed to be handling the negotiation so she might take issue with speaking directly to me. However ,I can stay in touch with the realtor to determine status and get updates from the sellers attornry. I'll regroup and keep my foot on the gas until we finish the race. Thanks again.

Maryann L. · Answer

Michael, I'm assuming you are the investor in this purchase.  Have you purchased short sales before?

They are time consuming many of the times, and depending on the lender, can be ugly, but if you brought the Realtor into the picture then you should be the one taking the bull by the horns.  Who is negotiating the file?  If it's the attorney, you should be on the phone with the attorney at least once a week to find out status.

I'm of the firm believe a "drive by" bpo does no one any good.  Certainly not you or the homeowner.  The Realtor should have information about this property and should be meeting the BPO agent to give them comps, and information pertaining to the hardship.

It's unclear what you intend to do here but if you want this property at a discounted price the BPO is extremely important. The BPO should not be neglected in any way.

I think you should get a game plan together here including getting the agent and attorney on the phone to discuss how to accomplish this sale and have everyone happy.  If this agent is not as proactive as you wish, let them know.

When I work with agents, they know EXACTLY what to expect and what to do.  If they can't communicate with me weekly or even daily about a property, it's not going to work for me.  ESPECIALLY when I go to resell a property.  If they get showings, I need to know, if they don't get any phone calls, I need to know, if there is a problem with the property, I need to know.

I'm sorry this is happening to you, but at this point I think you really should get an action plan together and get everyone on the same page.

Michael G. · Answer

Thanks for the replies. They all have useful content. As you can see in the "How to Submit A Short Sale Package" blog, Bill and Jackie are realtors as well as investors and they are deeply involved in the whole process. Thats what I expected from my realtor. To kind of hold my hand and walk me through. I'll work through it but I was just dissapointed in her lack of involvement and aloofness.

Stephen McKee · Answer

Most Realtors are really bad at short sales and it gets even worse when they higher a 3rd party TC. They should be treating your file like an escrow. Every time they get off the phone with the lender they should have another day they plan on contacting them. Unfortunately this is not the case most of the time.

Joshua Dorkin · Answer

Michael - 
I thought you might find this article helpful . . . it doesn't directly answer your question, but it has some useful info:
How to Submit A Short Sale Package

Colin Bochicchio · Answer

Michael,
I am going through a short sale on my wife's property in AZ and I feel the same way and I emailed her to discuss some viable marketing strategies since we are going little if any foot traffic and we lost a buyer previously due to the buyer lease expiring and he could wait no longer to close so that was quite upsetting to see happen.
She has a great web site with even better pics and she told me to let her do what she does best so I may have to trust my realtor since I live in VA so I'm on the other side of the country.
She did not like the fact I had questioned her marketing strategy since she feels the website is top notch and the fact that realtors do not do "open" houses anymore..?? since I suggested can we do an open house.. we are getting some hits off the website though..
AZ is real slow especially this time of year so what can you do..??

I am using a law firm and suggest you do as well especially, if you have a 2nd lien due to the potential recourse on the loan and make sure you have a short sale approval letter available. No legal advice intended on this.
All I can say is be involved in the process and be reachable for development that come along.
If you can maybe you could funnel any investors over to your realtor.

Either way the best of luck to you hope it works out..

Colin