Negotiating a Loan Resolution: The Human Factor and Short Sale

Behind every successful sale, there is also a naturally created personal bond that could make a world of difference and work to our advantage. It would be fair to say that the lenders we deal with day to day are pretty much the same. There is only a group of primary lenders that we find ourselves calling over and over to submit short sale offers. In case you have not noticed, you have been given the opportunity to make a new friend on the other side of the phone who could help you or break you if you fail to make a pleasant and permanent human impression.

Let's start by sharing what a loan resolution negotiator goes through every day while working for a lender or servicer, based on my own personal experience. Needless to say, we all know about the overwhelming volume of calls these guys handle. An average day could mean 170 calls that we are monitored on, judged on, an expected to solve in a record time because a call queue can't have a long "hold time" as it is "unprofessional". We should also recognize that most of the calls received at these loss mitigation departments are not from lotto winners, but from individuals losing their homes, independent loss mitigators representing clients, foreclosure attorneys, or agents trying to obtain a short sale approval. Now, try to picture getting these calls back to back and not having a whole lot of saying in what the final outcome of that specific call would be. The point is that the typical lender's agent picking up the phone might not be having a peachy day at all!

I guess I'm trying to share some of the things that motivated me to "get involved" and solve every file by making it personal (in addition or aside from monetary incentives). The human factor! Many of my most successful files while representing a lender were possible because I took a special interest in the case because someone made a positive impression on me. I always appreciate a serene tone of voice, an honest scenario, a knowledgeable person whose application for a loan resolution was complete and who is not trying to bully you into doing what they want. And of course, no attitude! I've always appreciated gratitude, courtesy and professionalism no less than I do today.

In order to get a head start, we should understand some of the very basic laws of human behavior and how to influence people to help us accomplish our goals as negotiators. How many of us start a conversation with a lender in a friendly and humorist way before getting into the core of the conversation? Setting the right tone for the rest of the conversation is easy to do and could take you a long way. Let's try to remember that in our next outbound call to a lender.

Considering we are talking daily with the same group of lenders, don't you think we could have started some sort of relationship with someone who showed an unusual concern about our call? Identifying a good agent comes pretty quick and we don't let that person off the phone without asking: What is the best way to get a hold of you again? You will be surprised how expressing lavish praise and honest gratitude could open new doors for us. Feel free to commend these agents when things are handled right or even when you are pointed in the right direction, if that is the case. We all like to hear good things from our clients so shouldn't we be saying something similar to the people that can help us get a short sale approved!

Strive to be that person and before long you will have a list of inside people at every institution that are willing to supply you personal information, inside information on file, an ally and a friend. This is a well regarded secret in our industry, but this is how it goes. Once you made some progress with any of these agents, don't forget that most lenders offer bonuses and commissions based on productivity and performance. Wouldn't it make sense to bring all your deals from that bank to the same agent? Play with it!