PROView - May 2008 - (Page 4) Are You Protected? How to Remain Safe While Managing a Short Sale Transaction by Mathias Bergendahl, Director of Marketing & Communications t’s in the morning newspaper. It’s on television at night. It’s discussed on radio talk shows. It’s all over the internet. Everywhere you turn you probably see a reference to the ever-increasing number of foreclosures in our country. Our local area is no exception when it comes to the frequency of people losing their homes. In fact, you may even see it within your own neighborhood. It’s a depressing end to what once started as an exciting purchase of a new home. Whatever caused homeowners to fail in making their mortgage payments, many now face the embarrassment of leaving their homes and the devastating effect a foreclosure will have on their credit score. One way out, however, may be a short sale. I Customers will now turn to you for help. You will be asked about options available to them. They want advice and expect you to know the answers to their questions. Are you prepared to assist them? More importantly, are you protected against any issues that may arise from accepting such transactions? Have you taken actions to lessen your exposure to potential liabilities? The legal and financial ramifications of any mistakes made while guiding customers through a short sale process may be severe unless you take the necessary steps to guard your business. In an effort to help our members protect themselves, I spoke with several industry professionals about what REALTORS® can do to build a shield against accusations from customers who may feel they’ve been wronged. Hopefully their suggestions will help you stay protected. 4 PINELLAS REALTOR® ORGANIZATION May 2008
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.