Hello Fellow Short Sale Agents:
Just looking for some feedback from everyone on which banks you consider easier to work with and which ones make you want to pull your hair out?
I know that every file is different and every negotiator is different as well, but just wanted to hear what some of your experiences out there are like.
Also anything you want to mention about certain banks that you have noticed are getting better and quicker about approving short sales.
Thanks,
Happy New Year,
Sherry Sims
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HI Linda-
I had this same situation a few months ago with PennyMac Bank and some weird bank called Third Bank and Trust and I got around it by getting each lien holder to issue an approval letter subject to terms of other approval letter. So PennyMac issued adn approval letter stating that the approval was subject to Deep Green aka Third Bank and trust accepting the agreed upon $3000 payoff to release their interest in the property adn of course it went on to state that any overages went to them. And I got Third Federal to issue an approval letter stating they woudl release their interest in the property for the agreed upon 3000 so long as the sales price was "X" amount, the expenses to sell did not exceed "y" amount and the net amount to lien holder number one was no more than "z" amount. Note title adn I made sure that "z" amount was actually a bit more than lien holder number one was expected to net. Then I gave each one the other's conditional approval letter and got final approval from both of them at about the same time and in good time to close.
Hope it helps
Best of Luck-
C
Favs:
BofA
Chase
Suntrust
Wells
Bad:
Flagstar
PNC (especially 2nd)
US Bank
Ocwen
Fannie/Freddie Invested (outrageous values)
Worst: GreenTree. Wells Fargo who has recently changed their SS Approval letter. PNC. ING.
Best: I actually have had good luck with ServiceLink, who services short sales for IndyMac and other lenders. Chase.
I have SPS as the 1st and Chase/Five Lakes as the 2nd. Neither will give an approval letter ahead of the other. This is a HAFA so WHO should be giving the approval letter FIRST?
My two experiences with Chase have been nightmares, but I think one was the circumstances (extensive mold not caught by the appraiser because he didn't go into the basement) and an inept negotiator who actually said about getting a 30-day extension, "It can be easy or it can be hard. Just depends on what kind of mood I'm in." She also said, "I get 100 voice mails a day. I can't check my voice mail or answer email." But her boss did, and they so did she after that.
I've had negotiators like that at Chase, too. Elitist is the way I would describe them. They also have some excellent ones - some of the best I've ever worked with. Perhaps you will luck out one day . . .
I would definitely give BofA - most improved overall. I actually like their files now.
Best - Wells Fargo, SPS
Worst - CHASE & GreenTree
I've learned CHASE can be good, but they have so much practice being bad that it is hard to overcome old habits. LOL. GreenTree files are a huge waste of time. They worship at the altar of inefficiency. Hope its working out for them.
This is so much fun! Ok, here goes:
Absolute Worst: Ocwen and Met Life (hands down!). What makes Ocwen so horrible is that you have to set an appointment for weeks into the future for the negotiator to call you from India and if your call gets dropped (like it did when they called me on my cellphone), you have to make another appointment for them to call you back in a couple weeks again (cuz they can't dial out manually). It's the most stupid system in the world and buyers drop out constantly. And the scary thing is Ocwen is trying to buy up more servicing biz!
Not as bad as above but running a close second: GMAC, GreenTree, Fifth Third
Best: Well, none of them really work as fast or asefficiently as we would like them to, do they, but I do like BofA, Citi, Litton, LBPS & sometimes Chase. I once got an approval in 8 days with Chase, but I've also had nightmares on the other end of the spectrum with them. I found PHH really easy to work with, but unfortunately, I've only had one PHH short sale. Wells is okay.
Most Improved: I agree with the majority here, BofA. Even if you get a newbie processor who has no clue, you can still find help to get you through it.
Ahhhh yes, "Ocwen of India". But, I did get a very good outcome. I managed to get to a really terrific escalation team member. Thank you, Ed....
Hi Sheryy-
Hands down the worst bank is Ocwen. they outsource their negotiations to India and should you get offered an Ocwen short sale my best advice is walk away. See my blog on Trulia- "How I Snatched a Short Sale From Foreclosure Three Times...once after it foreclosed." http://www.trulia.com/blog/Carole_Higgins/
Aside from that I have found Chase and Wells Fargo to be difficult and Fifth Third to be more than difficult. BofA is absolutely the easiest bank to work with in my book, followed by PennyMac Bank and GMAC. I do find that it helpful to keep all of my old contact logs on short sales. When I run into a problem I refer to them to see who helped me previously at the specific bank and I contact them. I find having someone you know and who knows you can and will get the deal done often makes all the difference. And of course I couldn't agree Sheyenne more- "honey will take you a lot farther than vinegar..."
The negotiators and your rapport, or lack there of, is key; many of them are grossly overworked. They have hundreds of files at any given time and they are human- if you are rude my guess is you go to the bottom of that pile and if you are nice you might get a little higher up. My best advice for anyone wanting to get into or get ahead in short sales is to treat the negotiators like you would want to be treated-even if you are so frustrated you can hardly see straight,
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