Inexperienced and uneducated Realtors are hampering short sales in the government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, according to a pair of real estate professionals that specialize in distressed home sales.
Agents and brokers that are knowledgeable of the short sale process can complete HAFA agreements in as little as 60 days, according to Teaneck, N.J.-based agent Travis Waller, who spoke at a real estate conference in New York this week. But it all comes down to the paperwork, he said.
"The banks know who's experienced and who's not," Waller said. "If you don't present the files correctly to the bank, you're going to get put at the bottom of the pile. When the banks recognize you know what you're doing with your presentation of the documents, you'll get a call within a few days."
But the inexperienced agent can cause a deal to fall apart. "Many short sales are lost to foreclosure because of the inexperience of the listing agent," Waller said.
Getting into the short sale market is sometimes the only option for agents and brokers trying to stay in business in tough markets, explained Cincinnati, Ohio-based agent Holly Maloney. An educated short sales agent can help distressed mortgage borrowers, promote local housing stability and create new opportunities for agents, she said.
"There are so many REO properties out there," she said. "If we can short them, we're keeping the market values up 35-40% higher than what they would get on an REO property."
Maloney spent years in the mortgage industry before getting her real estate license and both she and Waller have professional designations in distressed sales. Maloney said she has completed 14 short sales under HAFA and Waller said he closed 73 of the 75 short sale cases he's taken on.