How to find a short sale expert?

[wondering_what_to_do]

How do I find a short sale expert and what should I look for before retaining one?
Should it be a lawyer or a company that does nothing else than loan negotiations? What questions should I ask the person other than the actual procedure? Should they have had cases in my area before or is geography irrelevant?
My biggest concern is how well they can negotiate the deficiency which I expect to be around 100k. What is a typical workout agreement? Someone told me 15% spread over 10 years - is that realistic?

Thanks.

[Maurice Bedard]

For negotiation with the deficiency, you may want to use a Real Estate Attorney for that..............they will be able to sit down with you and explain the process step by step and what you can expect as it wold vary from case to case.

you can go to your state's bar association referral service.......

or

National Association of Consumer Advocates – Consumer Protection Advocates and Attorneys


they usually will have them listed under Real Estate........most of these attornies have experience with short sales, but what they specialize in should also be listed and from there you can do a license search for any complaints.