This is the actual text of an email I sent to President on March 10, 2009 via a "Contact Us" link on the White House website.  I'll let you know what I hear back.

"While I would love a reply, certainly none is required.

As a 50 year old Real Estate Broker, I have spent 29 years in the Seattle area Real Estate Market.  I worked 12 years in Title Insurance and Escrow and the past (nearly) 17 as a Realtor.

I won't waste your time with an editorial about the current mortgage mess, but I do have an idea that might be worth considering.

As a sales agent, one of the biggest problems in my market and many other markets around the country is handling properties in a short sale situation.  Is is very difficult for sellers, buyers and both agents to work with the lender and successfully close the sale; even with a ready and willing buyer.

I am told that the reason many lenders take so long (2-5 months) to review and approve these sales is that the lender Short Sale Departments are greatly understaffed.  Because of this timeframe and the generally difficulty in working with the lender; many sales are not approved and the properties end up in foreclosure.

Just yesterday I learned of a property with a valid offer (short-sale) of $620,000 which was not approved before the lender ended up selling at foreclosure for $400,000!!!  That's a loss of over $200,000 on one property.

The short sale department and the foreclosure department were not talking to each other.

It seems that by taking that $200,000 loss and hiring 4 staffers at a healthy $50,000 salary and completing the appropriate short sale paperwork for this and many other properties, the lender (and the seller, buyer, agents and overall real estate market and economy) would come out way ahead.

I read that FNMA was working on a test program in Orlando where the lender could approve short sale pricing before a potential buyer actually wrote an offer; saving a great deal of time for everyone and increasing the likelihood of a closed sale.

It would be great to expand that program or something similar to banks around the country.

By spending some money up front (the banks or possible government funded or trained staff) to get short sales approved and closed, everyone would be better off.

Thank you and good luck.

Sincerely,
Betsy Weyer
Windermere Real Estate
Kirkland, WA
Associate Broker and Certified Residential Specialist"