We have a home with a VA loan, that is serviced by Wells Fargo. Short Sale property of course, got a contract on home, decent price, still pretty low, but I know that buyers are willing to come up in price, they all gotta test the bank, dont you know!, but still within negotiating reach (I thought!)
Anyways, while waiting for bank to respond to offer, BPO was done and I got a panicked call from the appraiser that there was about 3 inches of water in finished basement (vacant home). I immediately called Property Management , bank, etc. Bank, after about a week or so, got around to sending out insurance guy, he said that the problem was that the breaker popped, and sump pump stopped pumping and thus the water. He flipped breaker off, water went down, but still stuck with carpet and drywall needing to be removed. This all started about 6 weeks ago, still bank has done nothing. They had the nerve to come back with an offer of 5K less than list, and are completing ignoring the fact that nothing has been done with basement!! There is now mold growing on the drywall, about 2 feet up. How does the bank expect the buyers to respond to this. Amazingly the buyers were willing to wait to see what the bank would do about the water, they were willing to wait for the bank to repair...Negotiatiator at bank said that the BPO did note the water, and that was still thier offer. BUT there is active mold growing, how can we sell like that, Will a buyers bank even make a loan on a property in which there is mold growing?? Can I contact VA and tell them that Wells Fargo is aware of the issue and has done nothing in 6 weeks about it? My understanding is that a company was sent out to bid, several weeks ago, and bank rejected bid, but has done nothing since. By the way, and this is the real sucky part, I personally have no contact with the bank, the attorney office is dealing with the bank through equator..I have papers signed giving me the right to speak to someone on behalf of sellers but since attorney is working through EQUATOR, I have no contact. What about the village in which this home is listed, can I enlist thier aid in getting the bank to remediate the mold, and prevent the home from eventually going into full foreclosure. It really is a great home and other than this issue of the water coming up I really thought we had a good deal going. Please advise
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" How does the bank expect the buyers to respond to this."
They expect the sellers to file a claim with the insurance companies! That's the way they think.
You will need to see how the insurance agent responds and then get very high estimates from licensed contractors to clean this up and repair it. You then send this info into the VA Loan appraiser and see if they can adjust the value.
In Equator, for the Wellsfargo VA loan, there should be a contact name and number for the negotiator assigned. However, you will need to get a hold of the VA appraiser first, have them re-adjust the value, then contact the negotiator and let them know the appraisal has been amended so that they can submit/re-submit the package to the investor for approval. Negotiators at this point are usually useless. You are better off doing it yourself.
Hi! I'm actually responding to the statements "VA does not do Compromise sales in Equator"... I have a VA w/ GMAC and initially I emailed entire package/offer to a GMAC-VA Specialist... Then all the sudden 30 days into it, I was called by a "new" negotiator who said I was to accept assignment and re-upload "everything" IN Equator. Arrrgh... I guess it's up to the bank/VA. But I was told by VA that there are several banks now that are doing VA compromise sales in Equator. I also read on Wells Fargo/Nationstar site (on another I just listed) and it too says they do all their VA's in Equator? I agree though on this mold issue - I would definitely contact a VA loan tech and discuss this with them especially since it happened while listed. I've found VA supervisors to be pretty helpful in most aspects. I wish you luck and hope everything turns out ok!
My experience with the VA is that once they have their appraisal, that is the number they are going to work with for 6 months. Never mind that no one is going to pay that price. I would try Wendy's advice and challenge the appraisal with the VA. That may or may not work, but at least you are talking to the party who is calling the shots.
VA is not processed through Equator, and VA could give a rats a$$ about mold or anything else that challenges their value. Most other lenders will certainly consider mold or other things that are disclosed through a value dispute process.
Okay then, I am really confused. This is a VA loan, serviced by Wells Fargo. The attorney who is handling the short sale is using equator system...so they tell me. The bank had actually changed the lock on the door, once they found out the home was vacant, which was prior to my even listing it as a short sale. I had a heck of a time,getting the key for the new lock on house, in order to gain access to home for myself and fellow agents. When we found out there was water in the home, I called seller, she called bank, bank gave her number to call (house insurance that had been taken out by bank because seller had not done so and was no longer paying on home). I called the insurance appraiser, he came out and set info back to bank. Perhaps the insurance does not cover water??? But what would options be for the water and mold damage, how do I sell a home in which mold is actively growing. While I am confident this is a VA Loan, perhaps they are not processing this as a VA Compromise Sale. Are there other types of VA short sales, that would account for the use of equator in the process.
A BPO is not done a VA Compromise Short Sale, its a Full VA Liquidation Appraisal. See if you can obtain a copy from the VA Loan Tech.
Nancy - If you think the value was too high, and did not take the mold into consideration you can challenge the appraisal by emailing vastaffappraisers@va.gov By the way, VA Compromise sales are not processed through Equator (assuming this is a Bank of America VA). The bank does not own the house, so they don't have to repair the problem.