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I've dealt with the bird dog programs and frankly they are a waste of time. Investors tend to make low enough offers, now add some barely trained person who has been duped into buying into one of these "get rich quick" schemes. They claim to have authority but have enough loopholes to make the purchase agreement worthless.

I know what I am dealing with when working with investors and investor groups. It will be a 60-65% offer (if lucky). And yes, they will usually want to do their own negotiations. That I don't have a problem with as long as I am completely in the loop.

But add another layer to the process? Hasn't worked for me. Now you want to have some fun tell them you will consider their offer but the earnest money is non-refundable :>)

There is no way you should ever let anyone handle negotiations for you. It is your license at risk.

Cadey Charfen
http://www.cdpe.com

I doubt that a license is at risk in this situation. Your contract is with the seller, not the underlying bank. Your seller can approve this approach.

This is standard operating procedure with many investors. Believe it or not they can be much better at this than many a Realtor. There is an equal argument from investors that the real estate agent is just trying to place themselves in a power position. And poorly trained agents have been more of a hinderance than a help in some of these negotiations.

Ultimately your duty is to the seller. They need to make an informed decision on this. Be honest with them and let them make the call.

I know that is radical in this age :>)

Steele, I was rather surprised at your post saying, more or less, that it's okay to let the investor/buyers negotiate directly with the bank/lender...

It may be different now, with all the ShortSales, but when I listed REOs, the banks refused to deal with the investors/buyers. They wanted everything to go thru the ListingAgent, knowing it would be handled properly, full signatures, proper addenda, and no verbal nonsense. I doubt if many of the listing agents are boobs, a very small percentage... and most are quite adept at procedure(s).
If the agents look like boobs, it's undoubtedly due to lack of communication from the lender.... that always makes the listing agents look bad.

Most agents wouldn't even take a ShortSale listing unless they have hearts of gold and a willingness to do whatever it takes.... again, yes, a tiny percentage are boobs, I don't deny that, I see it frequently... but the vast majority are not, and the banks know that...

I would advise my seller not to give a green-light. And, whether or not our licenses are in jeopardy, it could open us up to lawsuits.... we lose control, we lose bargaining chips, etc.

This is a tiny example, although not ShortSale specific:
My listing, had offer, was in negotiation... buyers wanted to come back and look around again. I made sure to be there, owner was there... I forewarned him NOT to allow them to engage him in conversations about the offer. He was teaching them about the pool pump & sprinkler system, etc... and while in the garage, he said he would let them keep his lawnmower, and the deep-freeze, a few other yardcare items, and some other stuff. I almost had a heart-attack. These were items we could have used as bargaining chips.
I later chastised him, nicely, and explained why, so that he wouldn't do it again with any other buyers. As it happened, the deal did go thru with those buyers, but this is an example of how things can go haywire.... loose lips sink ships, etc. You never know what some junior staffer at the bank might be saying... you don't know what the investor might blurt out... and any of that could potentially hurt my Sellers' position. I am very protective of my clients.

The only reason, I could see, of letting an investor deal directly with the lender would be one of laziness or indifference. If I'm wrong, and if this is the new "norm", please correct me.
If an REO bank wants to negotiate drectly with investors, that's one thing, but for ShortSales... I don't think so.

Lindy in Houston

I don't believe the original post was suggesting that the typical, retail purchaser ever negotiate directly with the lender.>>>

This is correct; Jeff Kaller promotes himself as Mr. Foreclosure and conduct Seminars/Boot camps (pretty expensive, too) as per Google info

Thanks,
Meir Aloni CRS, RECS & Team
Delivering results to Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County since 1985
All Star Realty Inc.

http://www.WeSellBroward.com

Direct# (954) 338-5220

From: Kris [mailto:RealTalk@RealTown.com]
Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 7:28 PM
To: Meir Aloni
Subject: RealTalk: RE: Jeff Kaller & Short Sales IDQQEZXJA

RealTalk A RealTown Community

Short Sales RE: Jeff Kaller & Short Sales Kris Licensed Real Estate Agent Hudson Falls, NY Aug 14, 2009 I think this may where the buyer is purchasing the home, with the intention to immediately (same day if possible) sell the home to a second buyer. We work with a company that will do that. All they do is purchase and resell homes. It works like this. Seller needs to have a short sale and calls me to list. I call these folks and we discuss all the options with the seller, including possibility of a loan mod. Everyone agrees the best option for the seller is to go ahead and sell the house. This investor puts in a low (wholesale) offer to purchase the house. Submits the package to the bank and will handle all the negotiations. Often they are able to negotiate that there will be not be any note for the seller as well as protect the commission. Once the process is well underway, appraisals and BPOs have been done and we are 30-45 days from close, the investor will start to market the house looking for the retail buyer. And personally the best part is that I don't ever have to speak with a negotiator again. This is all these folks do. They can spend hours each week making sure everything goes smoothly. The short sale is done in the least amount of time, and with the highest chance of a successful closing. As they do so many of these, they certainly are more skilled than many of the agents out there who have done 1 or 2 short sales. I don't believe the original post was suggesting that the typical, retail purchaser ever negotiate directly with the lender. Kris Coutant, e-Pro Associate Broker The Ultimate Team Keller Williams Realty Distinctive Properties Serving Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties Cell: 518 361 5250 Office: 518 350 5718 www.kriscoutant.com KrisCoutant@roadrunner.com View / Reply on the Web Reply to Community Reply to Sender You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to RealTalk on RealTown Communities. If you have forgotten your password, click here. To unsubscribe from this list, please visit http://www.realtown.com/community/users/preferences.

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Kris, Steele, Meir....

Kris, sounds like you guys have a great thing going.... being skeptical, I would have worried that they might be all baloney, but sounds like they are legit. You didn't say if they are Jeff Kaller people, but regardless, they seem effective. I do have to wonder though, about how much of attempt they make to protect your seller... seems like a clear case of a conflict of interest... although at that stage Sellers are desperate.

Steele.... I get tired of people constantly putting down other Realtors with generalities. Regardless of what anyone says on RT, it does not take a rocket scientist to handle a ShortSale, it takes caring, perseverance, and tenacity... and any agent with a mortage background may be better at it than anyone that has taken any of the ShortSale courses.
Yes, there are some awful agents out there, and those are the ones we seem to remember. I see so many ShortSale expired listings, where the lousy agent on showed the same photo six times, had nothing in public remarks except the words "Short Sale", filled in on the mandatory data fields. And by the time it's an expired listing I can't even report them to MLS. I hope some of those people that LOST their homes, sue the lousy agents for poorly representing them.... (I am hardly all sweetness & roses...)
But I still maintain that the vast majority of agents do a good job and care very much about what they do.
And as a good Realtor, whether it was one of his bird-dogs, or Jeff Kaller himself, I would not allow them to negotiate on behalf of my seller.... they could present their lovely offer, thru me.

Meir, I don't see how these guys got annointed to be so "special" that they don't have to follow protocol.... they have created their own.... and we're letting them... are the lenders more generous with them? are the lenders giving them prefential treatment?
I wonder if the Kaller people may be more successful in smaller markets vs larger markets which already have so many investors (many of which, already owning 100's of houses)?

Lastly, yes, there is room for every type of business model... and yes, there are listings most of us have had that we just don't love, and would be happy to extricate ourselves... but while it is my listing, I would not want anyone else handling the negotiations.

Lindy in Houston