Short Sale a thing of the past?

SHORT SALE A THING OF THE PAST?  I recently attended a coaches training session with coaches and team leaders and mega agents from across the country in the group. As we introduced ourselves and discussed our various roles and reasons for being there, I mentioned I had been recently hired as a MAPS coach for Keller Williams, specifically to coach SHORT SALES. Depending on where people were from, I heard comments ranging from, "why coach that now when it's all over" to "Oh my gosh, that's just what we need right now!" Isn't that amazing? Here's something even more amazing...often those I was speaking to were working in the same State...sometimes in the same market!! So, is it a mindset thing or what?

Short sales have been around since the late 80's, but were largely dormant from 1995 until 2005. Were Short Sales a thing of the past them? Now short sale and loan modification are a normal part of doing the real estate business. Some areas like the Central Valley of California where I work have been and still are up to 89% hardship or distressed properties. That means most of the homeowners are either in default, underwater in value, or both. That has been the case for nearly 6 years. Many of the "sand states": Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Southern California are in that same situation where the Short Sale is not a thing of the past. Short sale is just making an entrance in pocket areas of these States but generally distressed situations abide throughout.

Yet, in other areas of the Country short sale is a fairly new concept and some are just starting the distress-cycle.

So, my opinion regarding short sale and it's future is this: The entire banking systems have now established complete divisions to handle distressed property situations. Once short sale became an acceptable alternative to foreclosure, it will always be an alternative. The days of, "you don't make your payment, we take your home" are over. We've all heard the saying, "once you do it, it becomes your job", haven't we? That is the case here. Short sale and other foreclosure alternatives are now critically important arrows in the quiver of each and every real estate professional, no matter where you live, no matter what market you are working in. We have to be proficient at diagnosing when our sellers need short sale, what the laws are regarding short sale, and how to negotiate short sale. Even as our economy improves, whether nationwide or locally, short sale will continue to be a part of the real estate landscape. As real estate professionals we have to provide short sale expertise ourselves or be prepared to outsource or refer that business to others who are prepared and proficient at this very challenging skill-set. I would love to hear from other agents, lenders, leaders of the real estate and lending world.

SHORT SALE A THING OF THE PAST?  

What are your opinions on this issue?