I’m still on my Short Sale Soap Box

Then there's the short sale BPO (Broker Price Opinion) process. The banks are of the belief that an out-of-area real estate agent who is willing to consume hours of their time to drive 60 miles to take photos, develop a market analysis that declares market value and turn their report around in 24 hours for 50 bucks is a better choice than hiring a certified appraiser BECAUSE IT'S CHEAPER THAN ORDERING AN APPRAISAL.

I’ve made it a point to show up for every BPO on my short sales to provide the BPO agent with good comparables, a summary narrative analysis, and a live commentary of the known matters that affect value of the subject property. In many case...

Ah...the World of Short Sales is fraught with problems. As I write this, I think to myself: THIS IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! We aren't just running into problems with the banks, we're running into what could be described as OUR WORST NIGHTMARES!

Lenders are defying logic and denying short sales where the seller is demonstratedly distressed and in a severe financial hardship...can you say...Government incentives mean more to the banks than giving homeowners trying to get on with their lives a break?

Then there’s the fact that Junior (2nd) lienholders are blocking short sales by requiring a greater contribution than the 1st is willing to offer...silly 2nd...don't you know you'll end up with...

Being that the real estate climate is what it is these days, it would seem that lenders would be begging for short sales. If you ask: “why would a lender consider a short sale where they receive less than they are owed?”, I’m here to tell you there is a huge and obvious reason…they will lose more if they foreclose. A foreclosure can cost a lender an extra $40,000-$60,000 in attorney fees, trustee fees, holding costs and maintenance expense on every foreclosed property.

I won’t lie to you and tell you that short sales are easy. In fact, my experience is that they are anything but easy. It’s a very dynamic process with lost of moving parts and the lenders keep changing the rules as we go a...

"Home Seizures By Bank Set Records" was the title of the article published on MSN just the other day. It's really worth the read if you want to fully understand what's happening in the real estate world. This morning, I had my head in the market stats for the 10 primary areas of Los Angeles that I serve: Santa Monica, Venice, Marina de Rey, West Los Angeles, Brentwood, Westwood/Century City, Cheviot Hills, Culver City, Mar Vista and discovered that the number of foreclosures and short sales on the market has risen almost 15% in March over February.

Foreclousre is bad business for the banks. It was also evident from looking at the recent Notice of Default filings for the Westside of Los A...