By Stephanie Andre

Short sales got your down? If you are like the majority of other agents we have spoken with, the mention of the words short sale probably makes you throw up in your mouth – just a little bit. Every short sale “guru” or “expert” uses the joke, ”there’s nothing short about a short sale,” but in our experience if you know what you are doing, short sales are finally getting to be just that: short.

So what is our experience? We are the partners of Avid Solutions, LLC, a short sale negotiation company. Yes that’s right, we have made a business out of dealing with the dreaded process that you hate, if you can believe that. And what is even better is that WE LOVE IT! Why have we titled our blog “1st Ladies of Short Sales” you ask? Well, the company is woman owned, and in the past two years we have been through it all with short sales, and we are proud to say we have “figured it out.” We have been beat down, turned sideways and almost given up more than once, but 74 short sale approvals and ecstatically happy clients later we are still going strong! Not bad for three women in a two-year-old short sale negotiation business, eh?

We are honored to be chosen to be featured bloggers for Chicago Agent magazine’s new and improved website (wahoo!), and hope to bring lots of value to your business, a ton of useful information and even more funny stories about our day-to-day living in the trenches of the short sale biz.

The first tip we have for you is don’t do it yourself when there are companies like Avid who will do all the dirty work for you. Third-party negotiation companies have become taboo in the agent world, but we are here to tell you and show you that your lives can be made easier, your business can flourish, you will never have to cringe at the word “short sale” again. Do what you do best and SELL SELL SELL! Keep your commission, you earned it!

Distressed property sales made up over 35% of home sales in Cook County in the first quarter of 2010! It’s time to get with the program, if you haven’t already. As our friend, and president of Chicago Association of Realtors, Mabel Guzman, likes to say, ”This is not your father’s real estate market.” You need to roll with the times, really examine the market place and change your business accordingly. That means understanding short sales and jumping in with both feet. Now that you know you have people like us to do it all for you, there are no more excuses!

Now, I am sure you have a ton of questions about short sales….so comment away! We are happy to help!

And now in the news:

The U.S. Treasury published the outcomes of failed HAMP trials that were canceled because of insufficient documents. According to Treasury date, of the 148,129 Home Affordable Modification Program trials Bank of America has canceled through August, more than 63,000, or 43%, still await additional loss mitigation action, according to Treasury Department data. Of these 148,000 canceled trials, Bank of America has started the foreclosure process on 8,062 of them.

Until next time! The 1st Ladies if Short Sales,

Stephanie
Maggie
And
Jeannine