It's Short Sale Time......cont'd

For-Sale to Sold



Though some agents still face problems with the short sale process, many are successfully overcoming them. One of the biggest glitches is time, Burrell says. "Sometimes this is what can make or break the short sale. Imagine if you were buying a car and you had to wait four months to hear if your offer was accepted. Ridiculous, right? That's what can happen in a short sale."

Burrell says the solution lies in staying on top of the sale, continually working with all parties to keep the process moving, Shauna Werts, head of TriStone Realty Group in Anaheim, California, concurs. "You have to stay a step ahead in the process at all time, " she said, including ensuring payments are made and paperwork is completed and filed on time. OVerlooking any of these key elements can cause deals to completely unravel, she added. Still, despite these challenges, both Burrell and Werts expect short sales will continue to grow and --as Werts emphasized--agents who learn the ins and outs of this sometimes laborious specialty are frequently well-rewarded with hard-earned success.