A Sad Story

I first met Tony (as I will call him) about a year ago. He asked me to come talk to him about listing his house. I calculated that the house would sell for around $170,000. Tony said that wasn’t enough. “I need more than that,” he said, and he listed his house with another agent who was willing to list for the price he wanted.

I kept an eye on Tony’s house. It was listed at $178,000 and sat unsold for nine months.

Three months ago I noticed that Tony’s house was no longer on the market and gave him a call. “I’m thinking about a short sale,” he said. “I’m talking to a guy, a short sale specialist.” At the time I couldn’t help. I knew enough to know that I didn’t understand short sales well enough to try and list one, so I just wished Tony well and hung up. I assumed “the guy” would know how to help Tony out.

Then just this evening I looked up Tony’s house on the MLS — and it wasn’t there. I called him again. “I’m just letting it go to foreclosure,” he said. I was appalled. “Why didn’t you try a short sale? Your house is very sellable!” “Oh,” he said, “the short sale guy was all doom and gloom about how bad the market is. It didn’t seem worth the trouble to try.”

This is exactly why I decided to get short sale certification — so I would have the knowledge, expertise, and resources that I need to help out somebody like Tony. He was not well-served by that other agent! His house might well have sold as a short sale, and for a decent price. That would have been better for him, because a short sale doesn’t impact credit as hard or as long as a foreclosure. It would have helped the bank, which would have netted more money. And it would have helped property values in the neighborhood, because a short sale isn’t discounted as deeply as a foreclosure.

Unfortunately, I can’t help Tony; it’s too late in the process now. But at least the next seller I come across in Tony’s situation, I’ll know what to do.