Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Realtors in Myrtle Beach area refine short sales

Local Realtors have formed a task force in an effort to improve the pace and process of short sales for Realtors, buyers and sellers.

Short sales, which have become popular amid the tough market, occur when a seller tries to avoid foreclosure by negotiating with the lender to sell the property for less than the amount owed on the mortgage.

"There are a lot of issues surrounding short sales and the issues come about because short sales became a large part of the market," said Doug Hunt, the broker-in-charge at Hunt Realty in Loris and the chairman of the task force.

"It's a brand new animal; no one really had established ways to do things."

A Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors meeting in September brought together Realtors to discuss issues with short sales, and create the task force.

The 12-member group will meet every few weeks to create a set of procedures for how to handle short sales and create more education for the public, Hunt said.

About 7.5 percent of residential properties and 11.8 percent of condominium properties currently on the market are listed are potential or lender-approved short sales, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

"I think that short sales are definitely a part of our future for the next probably three to five years," said Marty Corley of Century 21 Boling and Associates, who is a task force member.

Corley said individual agents and companies all have different ways to handle short sales and there is no consistency.

"Hopefully ... we can come up with some consistent policies and solutions so everyone is basically working short sales the same way," Corley said.

Short sales typically take between three and four months, but can take more than six months, said Michael King, owner of King One Properties, a task force member. He said they hope the guidelines will increase the success rate of short sales.

A significant number of potential short sales ultimately aren't approved by the lender.

The task force is developing new forms that should help Realtors to all have the same information and get the proper paperwork to banks to expedite the approval process, he said.

It also is looking at what other Realtor associations throughout the country have done and are talking to lenders through the process.

"We got several professionals from our industry to get together to come up with an easier, faster, more efficient way to handle short sales," King said.

The task force will break into smaller groups to research the various issues, including education for Realtors, ways to expedite short sales and better communication between Realtors.

Part of the challenge is just getting Realtors to understand the short sale process and not just figure it out as they go along, which creates problems for everyone involved, said MaryAnne Dorio, a broker associate at Keller Williams in Myrtle Beach.

"What I hope to come out of it would be more education for the public as well as the Realtors," she said.

Jennifer Hawkins, from Exit Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, said she would like to see short sale training become part of the continuing education classes that are required for Realtors.

She said short sales take a lot of time and effort but if the agent works with the lender in a predictable, persistent way they can be completed successfully.

"We all work together, we all buy and sell same properties. We need to have an understanding, there needs to be a leadership source," Hawkins said. This task force should provide that, she said.