Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bryant Tutas on April 10, 2011 at 12:51am

It will be interesting to see how this plays out

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Permalink Reply by jeni lamberto on April 10, 2011 at 1:21am

I have also wondered and heard whisperings. I have had several conversations with attorneys and in a nutshell, the lenders would be violating the privacy act if they gave a debtor's info to an agent. They also would be openinng themselves up to all kinds of liability if they suggested an agent and the deal went sideways. I have personally negotiated and brought to closing over 90 short sales since the fall of 2007 and believe that would be dangerous. At this point in time, debtor's should do their due diligence and make sure they are using an agent with a deep understanding and vast experience in short sales. The short sale ship has sailed and you either have the experience or not. Inexperienced agents should be referring the deal out. No offense.

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Permalink Reply by Victoria Frieberg on April 10, 2011 at 1:32am

i would love to see a lender, in writing, refer an agent or brokerage to a client, not!  So 'conflict of interest' for everyone.. except the homeowner. The closer to the sheriffs sale the worse it gets, if lenders are going to follow WF lead, and not loan in the redemption period (6 months in MN.), why would a brokerage take a listing nearing that time...therefore, would the bank be offering an incentive to the homeowner to list with enough time before a sheriffs sale to actually get it done, or delay sheriffs sales? too many implications

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Permalink Reply by jeni lamberto on April 10, 2011 at 1:36am

I also want to add....I do not have any "special" certifications. I just have honest to goodness experience closing short sales.

jeni lamberto said:

I have also wondered and heard whisperings. I have had several conversations with attorneys and in a nutshell, the lenders would be violating the privacy act if they gave a debtor's info to an agent. They also would be openinng themselves up to all kinds of liability if they suggested an agent and the deal went sideways. I have personally negotiated and brought to closing over 90 short sales since the fall of 2007 and believe that would be dangerous. At this point in time, debtor's should do their due diligence and make sure they are using an agent with a deep understanding and vast experience in short sales. The short sale ship has sailed and you either have the experience or not. Inexperienced agents should be referring the deal out. No offense.

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Permalink Reply by Andrea Swiedler on April 10, 2011 at 1:38am

I am sure it is down the pike, for many reasons. I don't believe it is a good thing at all, that being my first reason it will fly. Second, it is more control on their part, to partner with those who don't know a thing, then they can deny even more of them, third, it will work in their favor.

OK, that all sounds very jaded. My guess would be that any truly successful short sale agents will not be on their list.

The issue is, however, the house does not yet belong to them, they aren't entering into a listing contract, and they would have to provide more than one agent, brokerage, etc.

What next?

 

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Permalink Reply by jeni lamberto on April 10, 2011 at 1:49am

I disagree with the statement "Second, it is more control on their part, to partner with those who don't know a thing, then they can deny even more of them."

 

In my experience, I am seeing the lenders/servicers begging to get the job done. The approvals are getting easier every day. They are begging the homeowner to list and short sale their home. I am closing 7 transactions this month and all of the short sales were a breaze. I am not experiencing any pushback from the debtor's lenders. Once they see my package, they feel they can make a swift decision. Suntrust is the only one who still has a "sense of urgency," issue.

 

The privacy act will prevent agents from receiving leads from the lender. Making a list of "preferred," agents will create a dangerous "partnership," and the debtor's attorneys will be all over this.

 

What I am seeing is the lender strongly suggesting the debtor seek out an experienced short sale agent in their local market.

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Permalink Reply by Amy Merrill on April 10, 2011 at 1:55am

I am with Prudential & we are already working M & T Bank with their delinquent owners.  The objective is to get in touch with the owners & educate them on foreclosure alternatives such as re-payment plans, modification, short sale, deed-in-lieu. Not necessarily to list their home as a short sale.  All of the agents working with these owners have to complete an educational course prior to working with these home owners. I have taken other educational courses & received certifications in addition to that training. We work in the geographic area that we normally work in & know.  The homeowners are usually 6+ months delinquent on their mortgages, they are not forced to list their homes, with us or any other agent. If they do list with us, they have the knowledge that we have a working relationship with the negotiators assigned to their file. They have pre-approved short sales, so the process should go quickly once we receive an offer. That also depends on the # of other liens these borrowers have on their homes & how willing those lien holders are to negotiate. The bank gets either a BPO or CMA from us, someone who really knows the market & another agent from a different brokerage(who hopefully does).  I have a whole team of people who I am able to communicate with to get things done.  They stay on top of things & if someone's tasks are not getting done in the pre-set time frame, you are contacted to find out why.  If I have questions because I'm not sure how to proceed, I have someone who will answer me within a day. There is a work flow that has to be adhered to help the process move along smoothly. I have had homeowners thank me for my compassion.  I have had homeowners thank me for my help, because they didn't know their options, they are too embarrassed or scared of foreclosure to call their lender, so they didn't know there are options available to them.  This program is not a bad thing. This is getting distressed homeowners a local & knowledgeable contact to assist them in their time of need & either keep them in their homes, or at the very least, avoid foreclosure.

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Permalink Reply by Evelyn Santiago on April 10, 2011 at 2:03am

BOA has been having a serious of workshops in my area to help us get better results on our short sales.  It's typical corporate propaganda and after the 1st one I don't want to drink the cool-aid (don't want to infringe on copyright sp wrong on purpose).  The banks idea of stream lining the process is to agree with them on their reasons as servicers for the denials that they give us based on their internal process.  The difference they claim between hardship and "inconvenience" is very interesting.  The process is getting better on submission of paperwork but since we are rarely able to discuss with the negotiator the deal its even more difficult to get them to agree. 

 

More and more of short sale listings are asking for "preferred lender" approval.  Do you know of any agent that is working with  a buyer that has not been pre-approved by a lender before they even show them a house?  This is just another way for the banks to try to lure the buyer to an inhouse lender so they can continue making money off the house.  The greed continues just in another form.

 

They get bailed out, they are making money, they took risks like everyone else but they continue to find ways to get more money from everyone while still cutting our commissions despite the fact that we are the ones that find the buyers for them to get rid of their bad performing asset with more money instead of going into foreclosure.  Banks never lose...only the homeowner and real estate professions by spending time and money helping them get rid of their bad performing inventory. 

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Permalink Reply by Victoria Frieberg on April 10, 2011 at 2:08am

Red flags on the M&T relationship..how does lender facilitate homeowner/broker contact, by giving a list of preferred brokers..or by letting broker know to call homeowner?  Do they pay broker for cma/bpo..I would hope not..but at this point, who are you working for to provide it, client or lender?..If the lender is paying to train you, is it a respa violation if free, or do you pay for it...just a couple off the top thoughts.  if sale does not conclude, can the homeowner claim they were steered to you by the lender?

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Permalink Reply by Tom Branch, CDPE, SFR on April 10, 2011 at 2:17am

I don't see this happening for liability reasons although I'm sure the waters will be tested and some deal will be cut.

 

Tom

 

PS - I've completed well over 100 short sales and some take longer than others. This is not a brand-specific issue.

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Permalink Reply by Victoria Frieberg on April 10, 2011 at 2:24am

For me, the best education has been here.  I have my SFR, CSSA and a couple other unrecognized designations..none of which help me as much as the tools and peope here, and the experience of dealing with negotiators both good and bad.  I actually enjoy the challenges each individual case seems to bring..must strive on stress!

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Permalink Reply by Amy Merrill on April 10, 2011 at 2:26am

M&T gives us homeowner name, phone #, contact.  We don't get paid for the cma/bpo, it is provided to the lender as part of the process and to the homeowner if they are considering a short sale or they request it. We only get paid if & when a house closes.  The agents who choose to work on short sales, paid for their own training, their is an additional webinar on their process & neither provide certifications. I took the additional trainings prior to this relationship due to the # of short sales I was encountering. I paid for those trainings myself.   They don't reduce the commission. As a matter of fact, there is a minimum commission $x or the standard %, whichever is higher.  I have started seeing this with other lenders as well. 

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