Short Sale - Listing agent not presenting my offer to the bank?

**Krazymad** · 04-01-2008, 11:17 PM

I am a buyer who made an offer on a short sale house via my buyer's agent. The house is listed at $711k (purchased for $858k, 100% financing), and market comps are around $660k - $710k. My offer was $660k.

According to the listing agent (who is related to the seller), the house is close to foreclosure and the owners are moving soon, but I didn't see a single packing box and I highly suspect they are just trying to length the process and walk away.

I submitted my offer on Monday and heard back from the listing agent who said the bank countered my offer with $825k!!!

By no means is the house worth that much, comps, price per sq. ft. even current listing prices are not in the $825k range.

My question:
- Could the listing agent not even present my offer to the bank and say they countered with a sky high price?

- My mortgage broker told me with short sales, it normally takes the bank close to 1 month to respond to an offer due to them figuring out if its acceptable to take an $X loss and also having to work with the 2nd lender. Is it true short sale offers to the bank take a long time and a 1 day response from the bank is highly unlikely?

- I read in another thread here, with a short sale, I can get the sellers to sign a release so I can directly negotiate with the bank, instead of through the listing agent. True?

There is just something I do not trust in the listing agent. Thanks in advance for the advice.

**Greg** · 04-02-2008, 06:38 AM

At this point here are some of your options.

1. Reject the counteroffer and walk away.
2. Accept the counteroffer.
3. Make a counteroffer back to the bank. You can counter back for the same price as your original offer or you could raise the price by whatever you see fit.

**Codythebest** · 04-02-2008, 10:37 AM

Your mortgage broker is right. It will take a long time for an answer from the bank in a short sale.
You may ask to see and ask the bank proof they have counteroffered actually.
More agents than you think do not present all offers in this world...And if (s)he's related with the seller, no need to think any further....

**REbuyersgroup** · 04-02-2008, 02:23 PM

Your chances of negotiating directly with the bank are slim to none. In this case I doubt the seller would sign your Consent form.

You are at the mercy of the listing agent. I had an offer on a Short Sale for over 3 Months and the listing agent keeps telling me he has not received an answer from the bank. Well now the bank has scheduled a Foreclosure Sale date and we will likely loose the deal. My feeling is the agent in my case has NO CLUE how to handle a Short Sale.

Unfortunately some agents take Short Sales thinking they are a piece of cake and anyone can do it. WRONG...

Do you have a Buyers Agent? It may be better to have your agent submit the offer and suggest that your attorney handle the negotiations.

Look up the public records of the LisPendens and see what stage it is in and how long. The seller can postpone the foreclosure for years if they are good.

**Portland Real Estate Guy** · 04-03-2008, 05:40 PM

Short Sales to take a long time. I wouldn't get to attached. Banks will want to do a couple Broker Price Opinions (drive by and one interior usually) thats how they get the price and then figure the discount to give you. That takes time.

**mjgiorgianni** · 04-08-2008, 02:37 PM

"Your mortgage broker is right. It will take a long time for an answer from the bank in a short sale.
You may ask to see and ask the bank proof they have counteroffered actually.
More agents than you think do not present all offers in this world...And if (s)he's related with the seller, no need to think any further...."

I agree with CodyTheBest...It happens all of the time.

**Good Neighbor Home Buyers** · 04-08-2008, 07:11 PM

The listing agent may be lying to you. Can you ask the seller directly?

**Pinehurst Real Estate Guy** · 04-08-2008, 08:19 PM

There are horror stories for sure, but do you realize the heat the listing would get if they did not present the offer and just plucked a number from the air and said it was the banks counter. That's just not something to do, especially if it is your relatives.

If you're concerned know that you are not restricted by the same laws and ethics your buyer's agent has to follow. Talk to your agent and find out the persons name at the bank so you can call and find out if indeed your original offer was presented and be honest about your concerns. Tell them the listing agent is a relative of the current owner and you are concerned your offer was not presented. Finding out if it was presented or not shouldn't be as difficult as getting one accepted.

On the other side, I am hearing more people feel that their offer was not presented because they just want a super bargain so bad they can taste it and they refuse to believe a bank won't deal with them.

Banks don't want to lose money and it very common for short sales to fall through and the bank ends up owning the property.

If you're looking for a bargain there are others out there, If you want this house figure out how badly you want it.

**Orlando MLS** · 04-08-2008, 08:34 PM

It is possible for the bank to respond that quickly. It's unlikely, but possible. An example that would lend to a quick response would be where:

A previous offer was made on the property recently that was accepted by the bank, then the previous buyer couldn't obtain the funding to complete the transaction. In this case the short sale has been approved and the bank has already obtained the BPO's etc. etc. and are ready to negotiate on a sale.

We're finding now that the banks are starting to accept a lot more short sales than they were in the past. It saves them from going through the foreclosure process and outlaying the additional expense.

My advice would be to reject their counteroffer and submit another offer, maybe one or two thousand above what you have already offered. Make the offer contingent upon the appraised value (naturally).

If you are right about the comps - then perhaps there is something fishy about the counteroffer. Nonetheless, try and submit another offer and ignore their counter. If that doesn't work, just say: NEXT.

If you try and go around the agent at this point, you'll just create a big headache for yourself. Try asking to do a conference call with your agent and the bank to see where you stand. I've done this in the past with a client of mine - the bank had no problem talking with them directly.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your offer.