Mesa, Arizona Real Estate - Teri Ellis - Homes Arizona Real Estate: January 2010

Amy Jones sparked a couple of great debates this past week with her blog posts:

Prequalifying the Short Sale

Don't bother me I'm a REALTOR

I was surprised by the number of Buyer Agents who insisted that the Listing Agents ought to do things the way the Buyer Agents want the Listing Agents to do things - or the Listing Agent is "bad", "unprofessional", "doomed to failure", etc., etc.  The primary complaint had to do with whether or not a Listing Agent could be reached by phone, and what hours they could be reached.

Objectively, the purpose of a Buyer Agent contacting a Listing Agent should be to obtain information regarding a listing that is not ALREADY AVAILABLE IN THE MLS or ANOTHER RESOURCE that the information in the listing directs the Buyer Agent towards.

Where is it written that the ONLY way to make contact with a Listing Agent must be by phone, and that email, texting, and other commonly used means of communication are somehow inappropriate and therefore unacceptable?

One key element that technology provides is the ability for small organizations to be much more efficient and effective.  If five Buyer Agents attempt to reach a Listing Agent at the same time, four of them will get voicemail if the Listing Agent answers the phone from the first caller.  The other four callers have to wait until they hear back from the listing agent.  If the information about the listing is included with the listing, all five agents can access the information on demand 24/7/365.

If after reviewing that information, Buyer Agents have questions that are not addressed, there is an email address to send specific questions, which is monitored during business hours and responded to by the Haven Express Support Team.

Questions such as "I know you have Seller Written Instructions not to......(fill in the blank).... but I need to know that information won't get (and don't deserve" a response of any kind.

I understand that some folks who have been in the business a long time are uncomfortable with the changes technology is bringing, and WANT to do things by phone.  That doesn't mean that their way is the only "right" way.

These days, Buyers direct their Agents as to which listings they want to see.  If the Buyer Agent advises the Buyer to scratch a property off the list because the Listing Agent chooses to provide information regarding a listing using technology other than being available 24/7/365 by phone, that Buyer Agent has just violated the REALTOR Code of Ethics.

Just writing this post has given me an idea, but means additional effort and only makes sense to implement if Buyer Agents see it as a value added service.  We could have the information in Private Realtor Document 2 (which is attached to all our listings) available as an extension on our Proquest line, meaning that a Buyer Agent could hear my dulcet tones 24/7/365 if they wanted to.  Perhaps a link in PRD2 to our website and they could download an MP3 of the same recording! (Screencasts are an upcoming feature of our web strategy going into place in February.)

More about Screencasts in a different post.

My philosophy is this.  Real Estate, as with all industries, is continually evolving and integrating the latest and greatest technology.  We design, implement, integrate and continually improve processes and systems to leverage technology to it's fullest, providing relevant and necessary information to those who need it, 24/7/365.  

The concept is SCALABILITY!  Whether there is one person or twenty people needing the information, they can all get it without having to "wait their turn".

it hasn't hurt our Sellers - every listing has Sold.

It hasn't hurt our business - it doubled in 2009 versus 2008, and is continuing at the same rate of growth so far in 2010.

All opinions and constructive criticism welcome!

We qualify our buyers before showing them a home, right? But are you qualifying the short sale listings you're showing them? If not, you may be wasting your time. 

By contacting the listing agent and asking them a few basic questions prior to showing their listings you'll  accomplish 2 things.

1. You'll save you and your buyers some and frustration time by not showing or writing an offer on a property that's not going to qualify as a short sale and consequently will never close.
2. Listing Agents will get a clue and finally start doing their homework before taking any listing and slapping "short sale" on it.

When I meet with buyers looking for a home in Chandler, AZ, my first visit with them will include some counseling about the types of properties available for sale in our area. 

1. Traditional resales
2. New home construction
3. Short Sales
4. REO's

I will explain the process with each type of sale.  When we cover short sales, I'll go over my list of questions that I will ask any listing agent prior to showing a short sale listing and explain the reasons for each question and I'll obtain the buyers approval to eliminate Short Sale listings based on my findings so we're not wasting time. 

I will tell you that buyers agree 100% of the time.  Buyers do not want to sit around waiting on a short sale that's not going to close and loose the opportunity to find one that will.

Here are a few questions I ask any short sale listing agent (and another reason why listing agents should be responding to inquiries in a timely manner.  If they don't respond...I don't show).

1. Do you have any offers?
2. Have you submitted any offers to the lender(s)?
3. How many offers will you be submitting to the lender(s)? If it's more than one, the interview is over and I'm moving on to the next property.
4. Have you prequalified the seller and do they have a hardship?
5. Have you reviewed their financials and do they have an income shortfall?
6. Have you verified the parties on the Title and Deed?
7. What stage of foreclosure is the property in?
8. How many lenders are involved?

The answers to these questions will determine whether or not we'll look at the property. Some of the answers will give me an idea of how long the process will take and depending on how long my buyer is willing to wait, whether or not we'll look at the property. 

The answers will also be a very good indicator of whether or not the listing agent knows what he/she is doing.  I'm willing to help a listing agent along, if certain criteria are met, but if the agent has not done their homework, they've just flunked my interview and we're moving on.

________________________________________________________________________

Amy Jones, Realtor, ABR, CNE, EPro, CDPE
Chandler, Sun Lakes, Ahwatukee, Gilbert, Tempe & Mesa
Named one of the "Top 50 Real Estate Agents" by the Phoenix Business Journal 

RE/Max Excalibur
4921 S. Alma School Rd
Chandler, Arizona
Direct~480-250-3857

Visit www.AmySellsAZ.com for more information including free MLS search.
Visit www.PhoenixArizonaRealEstateBlog.com  for a comprehensive Phoenix Area Blog.
Visit www.SunLakesBlog.com about living in Sun Lakes, AZ.