How to master your short sale listing appointment!
So you qualified the seller, and now you are at their house for the listing appointment!
Congrats on getting this far! The good news is, if you had a solid consultation call, you won't need to sell them on you any further, or negotiate about commission or price. You simply need to set their expectations, and prepare them for the transaction!
Take a tour of the house.
I like to start my listing appointments this way. It avoids awkward small talk, and gets the show on the road as they tell you about the home. Observe property condition and needed repairs, ask questions as they come up.
Set listing expectations.
- Reiterate the short sale timeline of 4-5 months from list to close (unless you expect complications such as junior lienholder negotiations). Explain that once the short sale approvals are in place, they will need to close within 30 days and they will need to be out of the house and have their personal items out of the property. The only exception to this is if they have significant stuff in the house they are unable to eliminate - hoarders, medical issues, lack of funds for moving/junking items. In this situation you will sell the house with the buyer taking responsibility for junk removal, and price the home for the inconvenience.
- House preparation: Now here's where we differ from a regular listing. It is never financially advantageous for a short seller to make improvements to their property prior to listing, so I do not recommend it. I do however encourage the sellers to tidy up and make the house as presentable as possible., and adjust the list price for any condition issues.
- Getting on market: Unless the sellers are current on their payments there is never any reason to delay listing. I usually set the listing start date as soon as possible, while giving them a little bit of time to prep the home (usually just a few days). Short sales are almost always time sensitive and speed is preferred over showing perfection.
- Explain how showings work, and that they and their pets should leave for showings.
- Answer their questions, get that lockbox on and listing agreement signed!