Viki Benbow - The Real Estate Huntress: October 2011

But…..
Sometimes We Just Can’t Help Ourselves!

The real estate business has never been easy. Even when thousands of people got into the business because it looked like “easy” money, it was still challenging. During those times all your past clients now had someone in the family with a real estate license.

But in all my 42 years I have never seen our industry so difficult. In order to survive, let alone thrive, we have had to stay on top of our game continuously learning more and more about short sales, bank owned properties, different bank’s and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s ever changing guidelines and still do it with a smile and a lot of patience.

While I have been blessed with a steady business of traditional sales, about 50% or more of my business has been in short sales. We have helped over 100 families avoid foreclosure by successfully short selling their homes. In doing so, we have been deeply involved with those sellers and in many cases their tragic hardships. I literally go from one incredible tragedy to another as I move from one short sale file to the next. My husband has said to me more than once that I would lose that last 20 pounds if I gave up my nightly Chardonnay. My response to him is “Are you kidding?” How do you think I handle those long hard days facing those sad situations with my wonderful, but down trodden clients?

We have prided ourselves in learning everything we can about short sales and as we have blogged about before have even received a national award for our successes. But nothing stacks up to the satisfaction of being able to get a very difficult job done and knowing that it is because we have worked to so hard to be well informed and thorough. And, in doing so, helping people who really need help!

Yesterday I was able to get an extension on a file which will allow the buyer time to finish his financing and close a very challenging short sale. In her email granting the extension, this is what the negotiator said:

“Viki, I appreciate your professionalism and more specifically your updates and good feedback. I can tell you it is very hard to get the agents I have worked with up until now to do what you have done! Based on this, I have no problem giving you an extension until 11-11-11. I will fax it over in a few minutes. Regards NC, Short Sale Negotiator, CITI.”

As one of my colleagues in Short Sale Brokers of California states, “There are two types of agents today…..agents that understand the complexity of short sales….and those who don’t.”

We have specialized in short sales before most agents even heard of them. Don’t think twice to ask us questions; we are here to listen and provide facts! And we would be honored to put our 42 years of experience to work for you and prove, Experience is not expensive, it is priceless!