Short Sale Negotiator Joins My Team

With the increase of short sales in real estate market, I’ve decided the best way to serve my clients is to add a dedicated “short sale negotiator” to my team. Some agents I have worked with on short sales have had dedicated short sale negotiators on their team as well, but they are often unresponsive and sometimes grouchy about their position. Thankfully, I have found someone who is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people who owe too much on their homes but would still like to sell. This way I can do what I do best which is to sell property and the negotiator can do what he does best which is to work with lenders.

If you’re wondering what the term “short sale” means, it occurs when an owner wants or needs to sell property, they owe more than the home is worth, and are unable or unwilling to make up the shortfall.


With this new addition to my team, I am able to add a new service.  I can now give someone a realistic outlook of what a short sale will look like for their situation before they ever commit to getting started, since the situation for each client is unique. Many agents reflexively tell people, “first you need to have late payments”. Fortunately, that is not always true. In fact, every short sale experience is different depending on which bank services the loan, which investor holds the loan, and what type of loan it is. For example, the outcome of a short sale on a loan that was used to purchase a home is often very different from a loan that resulted from a refinance.


If you think you may owe more than your home is worth the first step is to check your loan statements to see how much you owe. Next, call me to find out how much your home is worth. If you owe more than it’s worth, with a little research I can provide a reasonable idea of what the outcome of a short sale will be.


For example, I recently met with a couple who is bursting out of their condo because they just had a second child. They both have good steady employment, but not a lot in savings. With a little research I was able to learn that they wouldn’t need to destroy their credit in order to do a short sale, (which is not always the case). Obviously, they were relieved and I’m putting their condo on the market this month.


If you have any questions about any of this please contact me anytime by phone or email. In stressful times it’s always good to be able to talk to someone who understands how things work.Ward Spears
503-522-8269
wspears@equitygroup.com