Thanks for your comment and thanks for stopping by.

As to the comment on law suits and being sued I think when and if the law suits come down, those who worked haphazardly will have to account for their activities… I see it almost everyday… I always state to everyone I work with that I will demand, disclosure, disclosure and more disclosure. Short sale negotiators may be running afoul of the law on issues that come to negotiating contract terms and drafting documents even when they are just dictating terms to mortgage brokers, other attorneys or loss mitigators over the phone.

I write this hoping that you are either negotiating your own short sale or are using a lawyer, the scenario above may be compounded if you are using a so called negotiator.

Realtors and principals my not be informed or apprised of what is going on between the negotiator and the loss mitigator.

When a negotiator is not disclosing information or is making arbitrary decision I would say get rid of them, you need to be assured that you are working above board and they are not putting the home owner or you, the Realtor at risk.

Crystal Gomez

The California Attorney General’s office is very aggressive in enforcing this. You should with a call to the AG’s office.

Crystal Gomez, M.A
Short Sale Specialist
Foreclosure Mitigation Specialist

Also, I want to make sure I understand something. You mention that you went all over town getting disclosures signed. But you DON’T mention if the Seller’s signed your contract extension.

If you don’t have an extension, then more than likely you don’t have a contract and the SELLERS could sell the house to anyone that they want to.

Don’t worry about the agent trying to sell the house from under you. She doesn’t own it. So she can’t.

However, if you are out of contract and she entices the Sellers to take another offer, you could be up the creek. How good is this relationship you have with these Sellers. If they want you to have the home then make sure that you get an extension signed.

Remember, listing agents work for the Sellers…not you. You have some digging to do.

Find out the answer and get back to us. Why would she want the keys? To put a lockbox on the house to show it to other buyers.

You need to delve into this.

One more question, the listing agent is asking the seller for a set of keys to the house. What could this be for? We already had all the inspectors through the house. The sellers have been very accommodating and let us in after they moved out and cleaned up a bit. I understand that at closing the seller will be there and will be able to give us the keys directly. I have a bad feeling about this listing agent and really don’t want her having access to the house in fear she is trying to sell it to someone else.

Thanks in advance for any advice. This is a frustrating process, but it will be well worth it in the end if we get this house, our first home…

If you are working with a lender for the first time, or for the first time in awhile, call and ask what their procedures and policies are. Some, like Ocwen, have sold off large portions of their portfolio to Wall Street ( you would be surprised about the market for bad debt) and those loans are not easily negotiated. Then decide whether or not to take the listing, because tying a distressed seller up in an exclusive listing where the agent is in over their head will get the agent sued.

I’ll bet Barry has a “Do Not Touch with a 10 foot Pole” list that he screens every potential deal against.