This month’s Agent Success Newsletter features Alisha Wade, Associate Broker at RE/MAX Achievers in Arizona. In our exclusive interview with Alisha, hosted by Peter McCullough, she discusses how foreclosures are affecting her business and gives advice to other agents who may be facing challenges in a market full of foreclosures.

Listen to Alisha’s feature story:

“Arizona is in top 5 cities for foreclosures in the country – 20% or higher of all inventory are foreclosures. It may be awhile before the market turns around, which makes it really important for an agent to know how to do foreclosures and short sales, and not be afraid to learn how to do them.”

“Short sales are priced $10-15k below cost (and more for foreclosures ) but the danger is when the house won’t appraise, even for a home that was in great condition. It’s great for the home buyer if that happens, but not the seller.”

7 Tips from Alisha Wade:

1. Learn bank processes. Foreclosures are actually very easy to do as long as you know the banks processes. Sometimes the addendum can be 14 pages long – and you really have to read them thoroughly!
2. If you are writing a contract, make sure to put into the additional comments section that utilities, including gas, are to be left on. Otherwise time limit accrues and you might not have been able to do your inspection.
3. Close on time! Banks charge late fees.
4. Be sure the bank is working with good lenders.
5. Make your clients are aware that foreclosures are sold “as is”! If you have a client looking to get something very inexpensive and decide to show them foreclosures, you have to educate them. Let them know that they may have to do repairs (banks won’t normally do it)
6. However, banks say they won’t make repairs but there are so many of them so some banks will do some repairs – my theory is there no harm in asking!
7. Have a good team to work with from lenders to inspectors – a team that is readily available to answer questions when you need them is key to closing on time.

Alisha Wade is an AgentEvaluator Platinum Club member and a HomeGain Advisor with real estate designations including ABR (Accredited Buyer’s Representative), CRS (Council of Residential Specialists), GRI (Graduate of the Realtor’s Institute), and CNE (Certified Negotiation Expert).

Read more agent newsletters.

Subscribe to HomeGain’s free monthly Agent Success Newsletter.

To hear more HomeGain Radio interviews, plus find real estate articles, survey results and more, visit our Media Center!