Aug 2008

Closing a short sale is tough—all that complicated paperwork and those lengthy negotiations.  Working with foreign buyers can also have its challenges—acquainting far-flung prospects with a whole new set of laws and financing procedures. But combine the two, and most real estate practitioners would just as soon look somewhere look somewhere else for business.  Not Debra Allen, ABR, e-Pro®, GRI, TRC.  This sales associate with Prudential Arizona Properties in Gilbert, Ariz., has found a new niche in selling Phoenix-area short sale properties to Canadian buyers. In fact, to this winner of her company’s 2007 top customer service and listing awards, it seemed a natural.

                As a German citizen of German/Asian parentage, Allen’s more than comfortable with different cultures. After coming to Arizona from Germany 1996she expanded her international contacts as a member of the International Consortium of Real Estate Association’s as well as her state association’s International Real Estate Council. She’s referred buyers to Spain and Argentina and convinced one buyer to consider a condo in Panama while changing planes on her way back from viewing the property.

                The short sale skills are a more recent acquisition. A course at the 2006 REALTORS® Conference in New Orleans cued her into the then-new trend. Soon she was developing a how-to guide for good short-sale package (available on her Real Town® blog) and coaching her peers in short sales.  These days, she’s found time between the 18 transactions she’s closed in the first half of 2008 to teach a class to more than 100 sales associates.

                Success in short sales requires “a good system and great attention to detail,” she says. For example, you have to be sure you put the loan Number on ever correspondence with the bank or the process can quickly go awry. “In short sales, ever detail counts. It may not shorten the process, but I believe that a good system is why I’ve been able to successfully close 98 percent of the 20 short sales I’ve negotiated,” she says.

Allen’s international and short sales expertise finally intersected earlier this year when a San Francisco-based currency exchange asked her to make a presentation to a group of second home buyers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Calgary seems a good choice because it’s just a couple of hours due north of Phoenix by plane. Although her initial PowerPoint presentation focused on all aspects of the Arizona housing market, it was the discussion of short sales—and the bargains they represented—that got the buyers’ attention, says Allen. “Canadians are very frugal, and since the median price home in Calgary is around $300,000 (Canadian), Phoenix homes priced as low as $200,000 look like great deals.”

She got 65 requests for her short sales package from the group of 355  but the desire for bargains, fueled by media stories of a Phoenix market meltdown, also created problems. “The buyers thought they could get rock bottom prices because of what they’d read about the Phoenix market, “she notes.  They also didn’t understand that in a short sale, the bank is already accepting less than the full loan amount and is not going cut the price further.   

As a result, for the first few months, she says, “buyers just kept losing deals because they were trying to lowball the price. It’s taken them a while to understand the pricing.” Now, she’s finally writing offers that are getting accepted and has two short sales with Canadian buyers set to close.

What’s next for this now-single mother of two? Unfortunately, she says, she’s expanding her knowledge of REO sales, which she expects to take off next year.

Photo Caption: To expand her business and international credentials, Debra Allen is now studying Spanish and expects to receive her BA in Business Management with a minor in International Business and Linguistics next year from WaylandBaptistUniversity in Phoenix.  August 2008