I have a story to tell

I'll try to keep this interesting so that you can keep up with what's happening but this is probably the craziest transaction I've ever done and it's not over yet.

I have client who has a stunning condo that he is about to go into foreclosure on. He saw the handwriting on the wall last summer and contacted me to help him move it. As time drew on and it looked like it wasn't going to sell, we moved in the "Short Sale" direction.

For those of you who don't know what a short sale is, read HERE.

So, in October, we put the property on the market for sale $150,000 less than he bought it for. For 2 months, we didn't get any bites. So, I just started encouraging everyone and their dog to just put in an offer and not worry if it was too low. I got 3 and we took the cash deal that was right in the middle.

So, on December 20th, the seller accepted the offer, signed off on it and then we submitted it to the seller's lender to see if they would accept the short sale. We were told the person assigned to the account was Misty.

After 2 weeks of hearing nothing, I call Misty for a response. No return call. Three days go by, still no return call. So, then I start calling into the voice mail vortex and start talking to random people to find out what the story is.

The first person tells me they can't talk to me because I don't have authorization from the owner of the property for them to talk to me abou this account. So I go to my client and have him write a letter to the lender so they can talk to me. I fax it and jump back into the vortex until I get some random person on the phone. They can't find the fax. And if I hang up and call back in, I get a different person. And even if they give me their extension, the chances of it being available when I do call back in are slim. One person was kind enough to stay on the line with me while I faxed it directly to her.

She confirmed that she got it. So then when I tried to proceed to talk to her, she told me I had to confirm the account with the owner's social security number, which I did not have. So, I had to hang up the phone and call back with his SS#.

So, I go back into the random vortex.

Now, I have to explain that if one calls and doesn't have an extension to call into, then one gets sent to a menu. None of the menu options worked for me, so I would repeatedly hit the "0" button until I knew I was being transferred to a representative. That's how one gets into the voice mail vortex. And one usually stays in the vortex for 12, 15, 20, 45 minutes until some random person answers the phone.

Finally, with authorization and SS# in hand, someone told me who the account was assigned to. His name was Jim.

After 2 days of calling and playing phone tag, I finally speak to Jim. Jim tells me he is not assigned to the file but that Misty is. I tell him she doesn't return calls. He schedules an appraisal on the property and tells me to keep trying to reach Misty.

I can't get Misty on the phone. I try and try and try. I fax Misty and she doesn't call. So I call randomly and am able to at least get confirmation that the property appraised for less than our offer. In this case, that's a very good thing. It tells the lender that they are getting more money than it's worth.

I did finally get her on the phone once, in January; she actually answered her phone. She needed me to refax everything to her. She couldn't find our documents. I never got her again after that. I began trying to contact her manager or supervisor. But I kept getting blocked.

So then, out of the blue, late February, I received a call from a brand new agent who had been assigned to the file. She needed documents refaxed to her. She said not to worry, we should be closing by March 30.

March 30 comes and goes. She needs documents refaxed. By early April the buyer is starting to show signs that he is impatient. I tell the lender who tells me to tell him to hang in there a few more days. I fax and call this lender almost daily.

May 8, the lender calls and tells us that they accept the offer and we can close at the end of the month. I notify the buyer. The buyer tells us circumstances have changed and that he cannot close on the condo.

Earlier in April, the lender told me that if they accepted the offer and the buyer walks that it is still possible to move forward if we get an identical offer.

So, I throw salt over my shoulder and I put the condo back on the market on Thursday. Today, 48 hours later, I have 2....repeat 2 ..... identical offers as the first one submitted back in December. The only change that has to be made on the lender's part is the name has to be changed. Nothing else is different.

I'll keep you all posted.