Cleaning Up Realty Messes

Recently, my clients and I threw a hat in the ring for a bank-owned property. Form my previous experience, it seemed like everything was going smoothly.

So, after a week went by I wasn't too concerned. After almost two weeks went by, I became alarmed. I called and emailed the listing agent two or three times a day for three days without receiving a response. I finally had to call his broker and demand that someone who was competent be put in charge of the deal. I was given an assistant who seemed to have some idea of how things worked.

Finally, after almost three weeks, I was emailed an extension agreement that stated we were requesting an extension due to the listing office opening escrow with the wrong company and not realizing it for two weeks. Two weeks? If I hadn't called the broker with my concerns the listing agent would have just coasted along obliviously and incompetently until our deal crashed and burned.

I've also been fortunate enough to experience dealings that were completely opposite from this situation. I had sold a property not to long ago for an agent listed in Lake Arrowhead. It wasn't a surprise when it took awhile for the bank to finally open the escrow, but the rest of the closing process was very successful. This agent was very good at keeping me updated, as well was her assistant. I was then able to complete all of my paperwork correctly and in a timely fashion.

Because we both did what we needed to do , the transaction was very smooth and I was able to give my client excellent service. If you are considering buying or selling, ask the Realtor you are dealing with some qualifying questions before you proceed. Make sure they are a full time, professional Realtor and not a part timer. Make sure they have a good, working knowledge of the local market.

If you do have plans on purchasing a property in the Big Bear area, I wouldn't suggest using a Realtor from the L.A or Orange County area. If you find yourself wanting to purchase a bank owned property, it is very important that you work with a Realtor that is familiar with how this process works. If you do have an agent that isn't familiar with the differences in a bank owned property, you could find yourself out a chuck of money or even worse, your property.

Author Marcus Fetzer knows all about researching Big Bear, CA foreclosure deals and Big Bear realty overall. Check out his other articles on the internet.