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Friday Afternoon Theme Music - April 4

A little bit of fun on a late Friday afternoon under 79-degree skies … have a great night!

Popularity: 9% [?]

Experience Pays on Phoenix Short Sales and Foreclosures

Jonathan Dalton, Phoenix Real Estate Agent This started as one question from Trulia Voices but a second from this morning dovetails quite nicely into the discussion:

“If I was behind on payments I was told to contact the Arizona Short Sale office. I want to know if I should contact Arizona Short Sale office or some realtor who just got their license.”

You can call the Arizona Short Sale office but before you do so I need you go to the principal’s office and get the elevator key. Neither exist.

(Editor’s note: it appears the person asking the question knows this, as it’s an agent who claims to be an expert in foreclosure properties. At least I hope the question wasn’t serious if this person’s been helping other people.)

As for the “some realtor who just got their license” angle, let’s check in with another Trulia Voices post to see how that strategy works …

“I am interested in buying a house that now has a courthouse auction date notice posted on the front door. Is it too late to buy before it goes to the courthouse steps? I hear there are sharks there and I don’t want to get bitten! My realtor is new (a relative) and doesn’t seem to know the process.”

Helping out a relative is a very kind thing to do. It’s also not the best strategy when you’re talking about spending a couple of hundred thousand dollars. Wouldn’t it make more sense to hire an agent who does know the process?

Sharks are few and far between on the courthouse steps these days. There are some, but not nearly as many as people believe. Most homes that go to the courthouse steps are ending up as REOs on the Multiple Listing Service.

If the home’s listed there’s time all the way until the auction to purchase the home. Last year, I helped a homeowner sell their property and we closed 17 hours before the start of the auction and trumped the Trustee’s Sale.

Your agent ought to be able to tell you that. Or at a minimum, they ought to be able to ask their broker how the process works. If they can’t do that, they’re at the wrong brokerage. And if they don’t know the answer and can’t get the answer, you’re working with the wrong real estate agent.

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