finding agent for short sale (bank owned, short sales, foreclosures)

[dgs7]

We recently moved to this state and are going to be first time home buyers.
We looked up some properties on the internet and were considering a couple of short sales and some regular sales.
Some of our friends (from where we moved) suggested that we may not need a buyers agent so I have been reading and searching to figure it out i.e. if we need to get an agent or not.
But for short sales, it seems like it will be better to use a good agent who has done short sales before ???
Since we do not know many people around here, I do not have any recommendations but what would be a good way to find a good agent and how do I know if the agent has done previous short sales and knows the process.
The other question I have is after reading the threads on Realestate about short sales, it seems like many home owners (with house listed for short sale) are not interested in selling and so the process just drags.

appreciate some help.
Thanks

[rfr69]

Originally Posted by dgs7

We recently moved to this state and are going to be first time home buyers.
We looked up some properties on the internet and were considering a couple of short sales and some regular sales.
Some of our friends (from where we moved) suggested that we may not need a buyers agent so I have been reading and searching to figure it out i.e. if we need to get an agent or not.
But for short sales, it seems like it will be better to use a good agent who has done short sales before ???
Since we do not know many people around here, I do not have any recommendations but what would be a good way to find a good agent and how do I know if the agent has done previous short sales and knows the process.
The other question I have is after reading the threads on Realestate about short sales, it seems like many home owners (with house listed for short sale) are not interested in selling and so the process just drags.

appreciate some help.
Thanks

My advice is don't waste your time. I'm in the same area, was first time buyer. I had 6 or 8 short sales fall through. Some after waiting around 6-8 months and never hearnig anything back. Often having ernest money tied up as well.

I tried several realtors. Even used a few realtors who were quoted in newspaper articels as supposedly being short sale specialists nad they still weren't all that well versed in short sales.

You will get diff answers from everyone you talk to in terms of how short sales work, if your doing FHA it gets even more complicated as it needs to be able to pass FHA inspection.

Your right in that you don't really need a buyers agent though you can have one if you want. Personally I think your better off using the isting agent. THey hva the relationship wth the bank plus they will make double commission so more incentive for them to get the deal done. In a normal sale this may not be ideal b/c the agent is trying to work in both your best interests which isn't really possible however with a bank owned property or short sale they but even more so with foreclosure I think they will favor the person who they are dealing with face to face over a large corporatio ie bank. Short sale is a littel diff since sellers are also kinda involved.

There are more than enough foreclosures dont waste your time on short sales. Its more complicated sellers nad bank are involved nad many short sale sellers dont even wanna get the house sold they are just stalling the foreclosure process living rent free for a year or more and may try to sabatoge your deal.

If your the type of people who hav a deadline to be in a place dont get a short sale. If you fall in love with a place dont try short sales. If you dont have min 6 months to wait for a deal that may or may not go thorugh dont do short sale.

After waiting nad never hearing back, getting beat out last minute by cash offers, etc I finally gave up and put an offer in on a foreclosure and hear back in about 6 hours. I can't remember the "short sale expert" I found quoted in the tribune but he was an idiot, based in oakbrook if I remember correctly. I used and was a fan of Sheila Bergman in AUrora. She deals with a lot of foreclosures not sure about short sales but I think so.

[chicagojlo]

If you've never bought a home before it's not a great idea to go it alone. Bear in mind that the seller pays the buyers agent, even in a short sale. There's no real benefit to not having one as a buyer, especially being new to the area too.

Some agents won't work with you when buying a short sale nowadays because it's more often than not a waste of their time since they only get paid if the sale goes through. But they'll usually refer you to someone who will work with you.

[mellowed]

Get a listing agent. If you're not selling a house, you don't have to pay her a thing...so why wouldn't you??

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by dgs7

We recently moved to this state and are going to be first time home buyers.
We looked up some properties on the internet and were considering a couple of short sales and some regular sales.
Some of our friends (from where we moved) suggested that we may not need a buyers agent so I have been reading and searching to figure it out i.e. if we need to get an agent or not.
But for short sales, it seems like it will be better to use a good agent who has done short sales before ???

Agree with rfr69. You make an offer. The banks 120 days+ to even respond to the offer. Finally, they counteroffer the amount that the lender owes or a price that resembles the 2005 price for the property. The whole time that you are waiting, they have your earnest money.

I don't know which is worse, the agents who know nothing about short sales or those who thing that they know something.

As for me, I would prefer buying REOs where you are dealing directly with a motivated seller - a bank.

[dgs7]

What about if the property is advertised as "pre-approved short sale"
I thought that meant the price has been accepted by the bank and so the process will be faster.

As for the buyers agent, I think the reason was something like sellers agent is as much interested in selling the property and you get all the listings on the internet. Also since seller pays the buyer's agent they will add the expense to the price ???

[rfr69]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Agree with rfr69. You make an offer. The banks 120 days+ to even respond to the offer. Finally, they counteroffer the amount that the lender owes or a price that resembles the 2005 price for the property. The whole time that you are waiting, they have your earnest money.

I don't know which is worse, the agents who know nothing about short sales or those who thing that they know something.

As for me, I would prefer buying REOs where you are dealing directly with a motivated seller - a bank.

On top of all these negatives you mentioned there's another one. I forget the term but your contract with the bank isn't exclusive meaning the whole 6 or 8 months your wating for them to get their act together, even though they are holding your earnest money they can and will continue taking other offers.

Not only will this complicate things and make the bank take longer but potentially at the last minute after you've been pushing the bank the whole time another cash buyer can come along and swoop the deal out from under you.

Btw, the bank will take a much lower cash offer than your offer. I had a shrot sale about to go through, someone came along and offered 15 less than me at the last minute but being a cash deal the bank took it over a financing deal.

[rfr69]

Originally Posted by dgs7

What about if the property is advertised as "pre-approved short sale"
I thought that meant the price has been accepted by the bank and so the process will be faster.

As for the buyers agent, I think the reason was something like sellers agent is as much interested in selling the property and you get all the listings on the internet. Also since seller pays the buyer's agent they will add the expense to the price ???

You having a buyers agent doesn't affect the price of the home at all, it just affects how commission is split.

If you just work with the listing agent they become your agent as well and they keep 100% of the commission. If you have a buyers agent commission is split.

Personally I would work harder for 10k than I would for 5k, I imagine you would too and so would your realtor.

As for pre approved short sale, doesn't mean a thing will still take forever.