AGBeat Columnist: Melissa Zavala
Melissa Zavala is the Broker/Owner of Broadpoint Properties and Head Honcho of Short Sale Expeditor®. Before landing in real estate, she had careers in education and publishing. Many folks say that Melissa is genetically pre-disposed to success with short sales. In fact, last year she and her staff obtained over 500 short sale approval letters! When she isn’t speaking with lien holders, Melissa enjoys practicing yoga, walking the dog, and vacationing at beach resorts.
How to avoid losing a short sale listing in the eleventh hour
Short sale woes If you have taken more than a few short sale listings, then it has probably happened to you. You have taken the listing, you have advertised it all around town (and all over the Internet), perhaps you have already even gotten through most of the short sale negotiation process. Now, all of a sudden, your short sale ...
How to bulletproof short sale counter offers
Are your counter offers airtight? I’m not much on guns, except maybe squirt guns, when it is around 115 degrees outside. However, I always seem to use the word ‘bulletproof’ to refer to the counter offer that I write when I receive an offer on one of my short sale listings. I guess I am using the word bulletproof in ...
How to be a better short sale listing agent
Lessons from Sullenberger and Schettino When I was 16, I got my first part-time job. Since I was nervous, my mother said, “Just do your best, and I’m sure you will be successful.” That conversation has stuck with me for over thirty years, especially when I see people who work their hardest and are truly successful. Case in point: Chesley ...
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Short sale settlement statements – pay attention
How to Create a Comprehensive HUD-1 One of the most unique and challenging components of the short sale transaction is the creation of the estimated settlement statement. The short sale lien holders request an estimated settlement statement when you submit the short sale offer. They do this because they want to know their bottom line—how much they are going to ...
How working with a seller in advance curbs short sale mistakes
Manage Seller Expectations There are a handful of mistakes that short sale agents can make when working through the short sale process, and I have probably discussed the majority of those mistakes right here on AG Beat. I always say that I’m not talking rocket science when I talk about short sales. The reason that they are a challenge is ...
Top four distressed property buzz words
Short Sale Primer A buzzword is an informal term for a fashionable word or phrase, and we have lots and lots of those in the distressed property arena right now. Words that we use change from year to year. As you move into 2012, you may finding yourself using these terms more and more—especially as you continue to deal with ...
Top distressed property articles for your new year
This Year on AGBeat If you are thinking about making short sales part of your business plan for 2012, why not toast the new year by checking out these 2011 AGBeat distressed property articles? The following articles were each a smashing success with lots of engaging comments, massive hits and plenty of retweets. Short Sales Need Offers Fast The price ...
Title reports and short sales – when liens aren’t mortgages
Non-Institutional Liens One of the issues that often comes up in the short sale is the issue of non-institutional liens (i.e., liens that are not mortgages). These are liens filed against the property or against the borrower, and they can get in the way of the short sale closing (or any real estate closing, for that matter). These non-institutional liens ...
How to avoid short sale implosion and keep the buyer around
It has probably happened to you before. In fact, it’s pretty common. The short sale negotiation process goes on too long, the short sale contract wasn’t airtight, and the short sale buyer disappears. S/he has hit the road. There are many things that a short sale listing agent can do in order to promote a solid short sale transaction—one where the buyer may ...
Gear up for 2012 with short sale leads – tips and tricks
Are Short Sales Part of Your Business Plan? With 2012 just around the corner, everyone and her (his) mother is talking about how to make more money than ever before. It’s time to start writing your business plan, putting deals together, and figuring out those new ways to be successful next year. It’s the same every single year. When December ...
Short sales – how to overcome a poor appraisal
As part of the short sale process, short sale lenders conduct appraisals or Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) on the subject properties. In the wild world of short sales, sometimes the BPOs come in very high, and other times they come in very low. It’s not surprising that the results are so disparate, especially when some lenders hire BPO agents from outside ...
Two tips for short sale listing agents – avoiding the storm
How to Avoid the Short Sale Storm When a short sale prospect calls me about a potential short sale, I need to identify whether it’s a go or a no and I do that by investigating a number of items even before attending the listing appointment. Title Report. Before going out to any appointment, I review either a property profile ...
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