I've mentioned before that I do not blog about my clients and I like to give them their privacy. I don't have a right to their story and it's theirs just as much as it is mine. After being a real estate agent since 2004, I have had all sorts of experiences and I am sitting on a lot of great stories! Well today, I received permission from a client to share the story about our experience working together. It made me smile when she said, "Sure - no problem at all. It was quite the whirlwind - and you did an awesome job for us. Let us know when you post it!"
So without further ado, I present to you a true story about a short sale; a bank-owned property; and some of the lives that were touched.
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I had been working with a couple, who relocated to Seattle, since January 2009, and in June after MUCH research, we found their dream home. It was a short sale and the computer showed it was “Pending.” Can you believe it? After all those months of searching; expanding and condensing the search criteria; running data and statistical reports; the perfect home is going to be sold to someone else!
With a bit of persuasion, I obtained permission from the real estate agent and the home-owners to show my clients the home. We confirmed that this was the dream home my clients had been waiting for, so I asked the real estate agent to let us know if the buyer walked away. He said there had been a foreclosure notice posted on the home February 20th and that the foreclosure date (120 days later) had been set and was fast approaching. To our surprise, a day later he called me to say the buyer wanted out of the deal and if my clients wanted it, we’d have to match the original buyer’s offer no matter how good or bad it was!! This would allow him to swap the old offer out for ours right under the bank’s nose. The banks don’t care about names on the offer, just the terms. So, we quickly got together again and wrote up the offer and presented it to the Sellers. Everyone agreed to the deal, but we had to sit and wait for the bank to respond. Apparantly, the first lien-holder had approved of the sale amount, but we were having trouble getting the second lein-holder to approve of the sale. The listing agent, my clients' lender, and I tried to get through to the decision maker at the second bank, to no avail.
Sadly, the bank foreclosed on the home June 20th, and took it away from under us - just one week after we had mutual acceptance from the Seller and Buyer.
Naturally, my clients were devastated and I was crushed about losing the home to foreclosure. We weren't about to give up, though! I contacted the title company and did some research and found that the home was sold at an auction to the second lien-holder. Sure - they're not there for us when we need them to sign off on the sale; but they are first in line to buy it at the auction! So, it was just a question of time before the property was back on the market again. I checked the tax records daily to see if it showed the new owner on record. I knew if the new owner was listed, then the chances of it being listed soon were higher. I had tried calling the second lein-holder to inquire about when the home would be for sale, but didn’t get very far because it was a huge bank. I was told to be patient and wait for it to be listed again. I continued to check foreclosure listings on websites and in the MLS, looking for the home. Also, I researched which real estate agents had the most bank-owned listings in the area this home was in and called a few of them to ask if they would be listing the home…. I tried everything I could to think outside the box to get this home for my clients! We had to be first in line when the home was re-listed! I just had to get this home for my clients, who had been so wonderful and understanding. I also pulled up maps online and used tax records and past listings in the NWMLS history to locate a handful of other similar sized homes (in the same neighborhood) that backed up to a protected green space, like the dream home. I wrote a letter and mailed it to ALL of those neighbors (25 or 30, I believe), letting them know I had a ready and willing buyer if they would like to sell. I really feel like I tried everything I could to get this house for my clients.
One sunny Monday morning in late July, I checked the NWMLS again. To my surprise, there was a new listing with the same address as the dream home! It was being listed for sale for MUCH LESS than before, when it was a short sale, and it had no pictures attached to the listing yet. This had literally just been listed! Immediately, I called my clients and they were incredibly excited to hear the great news, too! Next, I called the friendly listing agent and told her I had a buyer for the house. She was ecstatic, and could not believe the good news that this home was now available! So, my clients and I met at the house a few hours later, and we looked at it again now that it was vacant. We wrote up a very competitive offer and submitted the offer to the listing agent right away. She she said that she’d had a LOT of phone calls and showings on the place today. Yikes! So, we were feeling a little sick with nerves, hoping they wouldn’t lose the house TWICE. How awful would that be?
It ended up that we were in a multiple offer situation: there were others watching this house and making offers. The next day, each real estate agent was told that we had a few hours to make our offer even better, so that she would have the best offers to show to the bank. We added more money to the escalation clause, and held our collective breaths. An escalation clause reminds me of a proxy bid on eBay. You determine the increments you want to “bid” over the highest offer, with a cap that you also determine. This was their dream house – they had to get it!!
We heard back from the bank the next day, which was amazing! Good news at last: the bank went with OUR offer! It was the best offer of all the ones they received!! My clients saved thousands of dollars, even though they paid more than the new listed price – which is what the bank had said they’d take for it. So, we made the bank more money; my clients were happy with the great deal they got; and they moved into their DREAM HOME just three weeks later! Bank owned properties close much faster that short sales because there’s less red tape.
What a rollercoaster ride it was!! But, when my clients and I become a team and work well together, we can achieve incredible dreams. I am so thankful to this couple for sticking through it all with our lender and me, and being so wonderful to work with. I wouldn't have this blog to write, if it wasn't for them.