Allen, I think there is some merit to the REALTORS doing something. The idea that if the seller is short that the REALTOR will not take a commission sounds noble. If it is only for PR well then the motives are wrong. I am not trying to be callus I help my clients that are in trouble. I just don’t how the agent’s commission is tied to whether someone makes or loses money. Does that mean that when the market is hot and sellers are gaining equity at a large and fast pace that an agent would actually get a larger commission than THEY normally charge? Now if the agent was part of the problem that is a different conversation and I would like nothing more than to take some of them out and shoot them. I don’t need to tell you today’s current market is not the blame of any one segment, it is a culmination of things and SOME REALTORS had a part in it. I personally did not partake in selling homes to people that did not qualify just to do deal. It is possible to negotiate a short sale and not damage their credit. However I found the ones that are usually selling short are behind in their payments and then they already damaged their credit. If one of my past clients is in a short situation, then I meet with them and examine their situation and if they have good credit then I will jump in and make it work. Like I said most have already damaged their credit, if they come to us before the damage we can really help. ALso a lot of times they are short because they refinanced one or more times, rolled in their cost and pulled cash. I think a HIGH LEVEL training and designation. I don’t mean some tin badge that is an overview of a short sale for two hours. I mean an intense several day training then work in conjunction with some sort of third party counseling. A massive campaign to educate the public, don’t wait till you are behind on your payments to get help.