Sales Price: $600,000 Status: Closed!
Bank Paid Fees: Escrow, Termite $3900.00 (Partial), 6% Commission, Delinquent Property Taxes, NHD,
Area: Upland, Ca
Comparable Properties: $480,000-$650,000
Sellers: Loss of Business Income due to Economy, kids in College, Adjustable Rate Mortgage with a Principal Balance at $782,000.
Bank of America canceled this file 5 times, one of the events occurred when the Negotiator gave me 24 hours to submit an updated Hardship letter, yet she misspelled the receiving Negotiator's name on the email account that I was to send it to. Another Negotiator that had the file reported that I should have an approval by the early part of the following week, and when I phoned for status on Monday I discovered he had been transferred to the Loan Modification Dept. and prior to leaving he canceled the file, noting on the file that the "Buyer had bailed". Wow! That was scary! Then there was the Negotiator that requested at least 3 times for me to get her 2 updated termite reports since the home did have termite issues - problem was, she somehow kept losing them, and ended up canceling the file just to get rid of it. Each time I was able to get the file right back on track by doing internal emails to my Lead Team Manager contacts. They do respond immediately if you use this method. Most agents don't realize that you should not even bother contacting a Negotiator if they do not respond within 48 hours. Multiple emails will only make them recognize you as the file to ignore. Sad, but true. Agents need to have internal management contacts to get issues resolved quickly. Bank of America is getting better, don't get me wrong. They are making efforts to assure customers and agents complaints are heard, but they have much work to do in picking up the pace of short sales and training personnel to follow through on moving files along through the Equator Platform System. Managers are getting pressure to get results, and will respond to complaints, but only those that are processed appropriately. TIP: Never put your Seller Name or Account Number in the Subject Line of your emails to the negotiator or management team - bank security filtering systems will recognize it as sharing private information and throw it into a bin, something like a TRASH BIN.
What to do When a File is Declined or Canceled? Agents need to educate themselves on ways to get the file back up and going IMMEDIATELY when a file is Declined or Canceled. There is no time to waste if the file was canceled due to human error especially if it is due to a mis-communication on the file. I have been doing short sales since becoming licensed in 2001, however I have processed them as a Transaction Coordinator prior to becoming licensed, primarily with Countrywide Home Loans. It's all in how you present the package. The Hardship Letter is your Seller's Story - Presentation is everything! What is the Hardship? Loss of Income? What Caused the Loss? What efforts has the Seller taken in their attempts to meet their financial obligations? What sacrifices has the Seller made to insure their financial stability? Is the Seller not qualified for a Loan Modification, and have they gone that route first? All of this is very important and should be put into the Hardship Letter in the most direct, yet complete form.
Why Do Some Short Sales Keep Getting Declined? A good agent is aggressive and has back door methods in getting the short sale back on track when declined or canceled by using methods that do not take you back to Phase I. It's all in WHO you know, as they say! You have to have lead management contacts. I keep on hand 3-4 Team Leaders who are able to get the file back up in the system within 24 hours in most cases. Having to start your file over at Phase I is a sure fire way to keep your Seller frustrated in having to resubmit documents.
Equator Counter Offers Usually the Counter Offer is pretty simple. However, it all depends on the agent submitting the offers. Agents are expected to fully Counter Offer with the buyer before submitting to the bank to save time. If your Buyer's Offer is asking for Closing Costs, in most cases they may get it, as long as the Offer Price is within Value Range (which the banks will never tell you what that is, so you better know your market area). However, if you are asking for a home warranty, escrow fees that include wiring fees, sub-escrow fees, recording, reconveyance and the other misc. fees that the bank feels could be bore by the buyer, escrow, lender, or agent - you are just delaying your Approval. Also, they will always review the termite report, and it's always good to try and get them to pay for it, however - in a lot of cases they will pay only a fraction of the costs or none at all. The more clear picture you provide for the bank, the easier your Approval Process will be.
HAMP SHORT SALE VENDOR BOA is now using a HAMP Vendor, Loan Resolutions Corporation to process their HAMP files. I am still skeptical of this process, and will see how it works with Equator, so far so good. We contacted them and were asked to submit 4 items to complete the process. Scary thing....My Seller does not qualify for HAMP Short Sale due to Non-Owner Occupancy, yet BOA Negotiator has sent Seller and our agency statements indicating they have determined my clients are eligible for HAMP....(smile), like I said, The banks are getting better, but they have a ways to go yet!
For more Tips and Questions on Short Sales, Contact me at leandrasells@yahoo.com
SELLERS, AGENTS, LOOKING FOR AN AGRESSIVE & STRAGIC SHORT SALE NEGOTIATOR, CALL ME
LeAndra Shepherd, Always at Your Service!
