Destin Short Sale Sellers: Commit to Get Your Home Sold

Are you enlisting me to help you sell your Short Sale?  I know you’ve been through a tough time of late.  I understand, and empathize.  I want to help you out of your situation with an upside-down mortgage, a need to sell your property, and a way to avoid foreclosure.  I will go “all out” to help you.  I will implement a 60-point checklist.  I will organize your documents.  I will call your lenders.  I will get you a written offer for your property, and prepare a package for approval that will be hard to deny.  During that time I will have made an average of 68 phone calls, sent dozens of emails, faxed a hundred pieces of paper and expended weeks of man-hours on your behalf.  I will do my part–  and if you are denied– it won’t be because of me.  But guess what?  YOU have to help.  I cannot do it alone.  So, before signing on the dotted line and hiring me to help you with your Short Sale, I need a commitment.  YOU, the Short Sale seller, promise and commit to the following:

You will return your listing paperwork to me within 3 business days.  That includes property disclosure, mold disclosure, condo disclosure, homeowners association or any other applicable disclosures.  I cannot represent your real estate properly without the same.

You will return your Short Sale documents to me within 3 business days.  This means your hardship letter, last two years tax returns, financial worksheet, letters of authorization, paystubs and bank statements as I require. If you don’t disclose your financial information, you are NOT going to get approved.  If I don’t have authorization to speak with your lender, I won’t be able to help you.

You will keep your house presentable to show.  Please move your truck for your photograph and close the garage door.  Please vacuum the dog hair.  Please pick up the clothes and dishes.

You will provide a key for access to your house.  I will install a lockbox. I cannot sell your home by “appointment” only.

You will not rent the property for one-year term, with no early termination.  I cannot get an investor to buy your property in this market with a one-year lease.

You will disclose any liens on your property.  You will not “forget” there is a second mortgage.  Or an IRS tax lien.  If you do, you are wasting your time, my time, your lenders’s time, the buyer’s time and the buyer’s agent’s time.

You will inform me of any paperwork you receive from your lender, especially a Motion for Summary Judgment.  I need to know how long we have to sell the property, or I cannot do my job.

You will not remove appliances.  You will not strip the oven, dishwasher, microwave and garage door opener.  This will lower your market value in such a way that your lender’s appraisal will not adequately reflect the damage, and your Short Sale may not be approved.

You will consult an attorney and/or accountant.  When I tell you that you need to consult a lawyer or tax specialist, you will not speculate.  When I tell you I am a licensed real estate agent and you have addressed an area outside my expertise, I mean it.

You will not “change your mind” in the middle of your short sale, or you will be prepared to pay a cancellation fee.  Changing your mind includes doing a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, trying to modify your loan or filing bankruptcy.  If you do, you cannot expect my forthright efforts will have been for free.

You will not “change your mind” after you have signed a contract.  In doing so, not only will you incur a cancellation fee, you may be sued by the buyer for performance, damages and maybe more.  Consult with your attorney on that one.

You will respond to my emails and phone calls.  Please don’t hide from me.  I cannot move forward when you are missing, in denial or don’t know what you need to do.

You will take the Short Sale process seriously. When your lender, through me, asks for documentation, they mean it, too.  They won’t forget.  If you don’t provide the required documentation, they will deny your Short Sale and your file will be closed.

In summary, if you want to hire me to help you- I will perform.  If you want to succeed, you must perform.