…interesting you choose to point the finger at real estate agents and banks as the root of the foreclosure problem. And, on a post directed to investors.

My practice echoes the professional standards shared by Mike, Linda, and Debbie. It seems we take a consultative approach based on the needs of our clients. Thanks to each of you for taking time to share your approach to a very complex situation.

Although I deal with both, when dealing with a home-owner/buyer I will most certainly protect at all costs the investment made in a property. Many folks come to me after falling victim to predatory lending practices or who in some cases, have simply overextended themselves, and lastly in some instances where there are life altering circumstances causing them to be in a position of possibly losing their homes and investments. My JOB is to HELP people. It is not necessarily a quick solution. Working through the quagmire, being in the trenches with lenders, with creditors, with highly emotional people is where I often find myself these days. Understanding how to negotiate on behalf of these folks, what works and what does not, is my business. Not always is a loan modification or re-finance possible, but when it is, I sleep a little better at night. I do not doubt that these people will remember me when the time comes to sell their home or purchase the next.

As for working with sellers on short sales, this is emotional, it is often a reality check and an embarassment. Fully involving yourself as a professional means working to simply lessen the blow. Rarely is it a win-win situation, but again, the efforts do not go unnoticed, and these seller customers are appreciative and will most likely remain loyal. I ask them for that up front. It may not put gas in the car right now.. but if you are in the business for the long haul, there are rewards down the road.

In all fairness to those who deal with investors on properties as are described above, most often it is not a stalking of the prey, but a consideration of property that is no longer owned by home-owners, but now lies with corporate lending insitutions. There are no emotions involved in these transactions. It is simply a numbers game, and one must remove all emotion from the transaction. In those instances, I am a single agent for the buyer, I am not a representative for a corporate entity.

Being a Realtor is a full time, multi faceted career and people should be able to turn to you for advice, for professional solutions and for business and personal ethics. There will always be those who specialize in the “dark side”, who wait for opportunities that arise from the loss of others. If more lenders would work WITH those who are in jeaopardy, we would not be having this discussion anyway. Why does it take the government stepping in and mandating cooperation,.. that is the real question. That should be a business “no brainer”,.. but until the powers that be pass that onto the worker bees and get to the business of running their companies..we will not see this happen in this decade. Presently, while those of us with consiousness and work ethics are trying to stabilize this market and restore consumer confidence, the “powers that be” are enjoying their bailout money and probably on vacation because it’s just to stressful to think about it.
Debbie Kirkland

As an experienced real estate broker who has been through all the up and down markets, I can assure you that I would much rather have people keep their homes. I don’t seek out short sale listings, in fact I try to discourage the sellers from having to do them. I don’t list short sale properties. There are way too many legal hassles you get into as a real estate professional when trying to negotiate with the 1st party, second party and 3rd in line. However, if someone has to sell their home and move on, I assist them in finding a short sale specialist or get them to positive thinking mortgage specialists who can get them into a better position to sell.

When you say we are making commissons on these short sales, believe me – those commissions (that I prefer to call a paycheck) are hard earned and most of the time heavily discounted. By the time it is completed I’ve been paid a very low dollar per hour to get them through the crisis.

When I have worked with buyers interested in short sales, full disclosure is necessary to guide them through the process. Most buyers will withdraw from the process because of the time involved in negotiating through the weeds. I’ve seen short sale closings fail at the closing table – so all parties have to be fully disclosed as to the downfalls of short sales.

My emphasis is on consulting and guiding, no smoke and mirrors and referring to experts.

Loan mods are wonderful **if** you have the option. See, not everyone qualifies for a loan mod. As a Realtor, I explain all of the possible options for my potential customers. All of those options have their pro’s and con’s. I also suggest that they seek professional advise from a financial planner.

Short sales do salvage the Seller’s credit to some degree. Foreclosure is much more damaging to credit rating than a short sale.

Banks did not screw people. Greedy and/or ill-informed people screwed themselves in most cases. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you are earning $35k a year, you cannot afford a $350k mortgage.

“Proactive” would have been knowing what you were getting into in the first place and never signing on to a mortgage you could not handle. Loan-mod, short sale, foreclosure- all “reactive” and unfortunate.

There is much more than commissions to a meaningful career in real estate- but thanks just the same for your opinion Dick.