I always encourage people when they are shopping for a real estate agent, both when buying or selling a home, to ask lots of questions and find out if the agent they are talking to knows what they are doing.  To that end, I am going to start answering a few of the common questions people are asking.

Q:  Jacquie, how did you get good at negotiating short sales with banks, and making good deals on bank owned properties.

A:  I think part of it is my competitive nature.  I really like getting the other party to give in to what I want.  In this case it is the terms and price that my clients want.  Part of this is being a good negotiator and knowing when and what to push for.  Banks, especially in a short sale position have the option of just telling us to take a hike.

Q:  What else do you do that makes you successful when dealing with banks?

A:  Over the last two years, as short sales and bank owned properties have become common place, it has become apparent to me that to be successful with the banks, you have to actually do some work and stay on top of what is happening.  Back at the peak of the market, agents could coast, barely doing anything, and still make money.  But now, dealing with bank owned and short sale properties, you have to know what you are doing and actually pay attention.  That is what I do, I stay in touch with the lender, work with the other agent and guide the transaction as much as possible.  That is just what you have to do when working with a bank on a short sale or REO property.

Q:  What is the most common mistake you see real estate agents make when dealing with short sales?

A:  First off would be not paying attention to what is going on.  The other would be forgetting that they are not on the bank’s side.  If they are the listing agent for a property, it is their job to get the home sold and get their clients out from under it.  Often times I find agents negotiating on behalf of the bank, probably just as reflex.  In a short sale transaction, it should be more ‘all of us’ vs the bank, but I see a lot of listing agents forgetting that, which is not good for their clients.