Real Estate Agents Can Help Troubled Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure

Realtor Margot Murphy worries that this practice is widespread across the nation, "If San Diego is any indication of how homeowners have been refinancing to pull money out of their home, then any rise in interest rates will create a huge market of equity-deficient mortgages.”

But it's not all doom and gloom.  Real estate agents are arming themselves with tools that will help them help their clients avoid foreclosure. By enlisting a strategy known as the Short Sale, or equity-deficient transaction, agents and brokers across the nation are studying up on how to negotiate with mortgage lenders when their clients are in over their head.

In a traditional listing, Realtors™ help their clients list, market, and sell their home to a buyer. In the case of a short sale transaction, the agent or broker not only lists, markets and sells the home, but the broker also negotiates directly with the bank to settle the mortgage payoff at a discount.

Murphy is a licensed broker and short sale specialist in Portland, OR. Her desire to help some clients out of a tight spot over six years ago led her to short sales, and today, Murphy helps teach other brokers and agents how to perform successful short sale transactions.

“This type of real estate listing is challenging, but also very rewarding because everybody wins in this situation. The bank or lender wins, the client wins and the broker closed the deal.  I teach Realtors™ how to perfect this important strategy because I think it’s only going to grow as a market sector in the coming years, as we, as professionals, have a duty to share this information with our clients.”

This year, Murphy will be traveling to six cities across the nation ( including California, Colorado & Florida ) holding short sale workshops for real estate agents.

“If enough agents are equipped with this knowledge, it will help hundreds of thousands of homeowners across America,” Murphy lamented.