This transaction came several years ago, before the market decline was fully accepted by home sellers. The client was a single mother who, because of a heart condition, missed a great deal of work and fell behind on her home loan. By the time I had met her, she was finished with another agent who failed to sell her home. She was skeptical of agents because of this, and felt that it was not her home’s price that was an issue, but how it was marketed. However, by the time we competed the CMA, she was clear that she owed more than the house would bring from the market.
Being the mother of two teenagers, my client was both scared and proactive. She was under terrible stress, which isn’t good for someone with a heart condition, but she was a fighter. She engaged with the bank as few sellers I have seen before or since. She hung on their every word. Anything they requested was faxed and followed up upon. She kept me on my toes. The buyer actually found the house through her craigslist posting. It never fails to impress me how much better things turn out for my clients who help themselves.
It was a tough process, but the short sale was approved. My clients’s attorney, well, let’s just say I wish he had half the initiative of the lady he represented. He did a sloppy job, and as a result of title issues he failed to detect, I walked away from the closing with about 75% of my commission going to cure a defecit. Niether the buyer nor the seller attorney seemed to feel at all badly about this draconian loss I had to eat. I never recommended the scoundrel again.
Regardless, my seller got out from under the house she could no longer afford, and she got her fresh start. Her attorney promised to refer me a client in exchange for my severe loss, but he never kept his promise. Just as well; I don’t want to hear from him. My client calls me from time to time, and she is rapidly approaching the point where she can buy again if she chooses. All in all, a tougher deal on me than my seller. That’s baseball.
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J. Philip Faranda is Westchester’s Premier Short Sale REALTOR. Find out more at www.NYShortSaleTeam.com
