All Forum Posts by: Katherine Wolff Grote

I am a real estate agent that specialized in short sales for 2 years. I wish I could have those 2 years of my life back. They can be ugly. I had one that took 18 months to finally close.But as already been mentioned above, it depends what your plans are, where you're located, how long the property has been on the market, etc. We've also purchased short sales for our investment company for rentals. Although arduous, it was worth it. 

Most of the time people call us to bird dog. We really don't go out looking but we do make sure to let people know that we love "referrals". We also mention to the various subs we work with that we pay bird dog or referrals if they come across an owner who wants/needs to sell. Redundant leads haven't really been a problem unless, as I mentioned earlier, someone calls us with a "lead" off the MLS.

We had a similar situation with a seller whose house had been listed forever. We were honest with her and told her that honestly we couldn't and wouldn't do anything behind her agents back. We told her to have an honest conversation with her agent and tell him she was thinking about selling to an investor she had contacted. She did and her agent terminated the listing agreement and she was able to move forward with us.

I think quality bird dogs are awesome....however, if I might offer a couple of suggestions based on our own personal experience...make sure you are getting your own leads. Meaning don't bug investors with leads that are on the MLS. Here in the Austin area we've had a couple of people call us offering us leads that were already listed. Here's the thing....we've already seen those and so has every other serious investor in the area. Additionally, getting properties off the MLS here in Austin is difficult - at least for flipping purposes. Find a way to get qualified leads yourself, either through direct mail to sellers or connect with a couple of good wholesalers. This way you'll have access to leads not already on the market. Just my 2 cents. :) Good luck and happy investing.

Alex,
I've spent the last 2 years (almost) specializing in short sales and I just closed a nightmare of one that took 14 months with B of A. Over these last 14 months of hell, I spent some time talking to our processor who said their department is slammed with pre-foreclosures. She alone had 80 files. Like the previous comment, banks don't want to hold on to the real estate so I think they'll continue on for as long as there is a need. As for me, I'm contemplating a career change. Ha!
Katherine Grote