In initiating a Bank of America short sale I have received a call from them telling me my seller has been approved for their cooperative short sale program. I didn't find a group here specifically related to this program so I can't find the posts that may have been written on this program.
I have gathered that the benefits of the program should be less paperwork and a more streamlined process. I guess whether or not that's really the case is another thing. But the big con that I have read about is that once they set the price we're stuck with it and there is no changing it.
Is that the gist of it? Is there a predetermined time frame in which we have to get it under contract before it goes to deed-in-lieu?
Any superstars here have any experience they'd like to share with me?
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I have had some GREAT results with Coop ss with BOA. The process takes a bit longer (no longer than a HAFA ss though) and the negotiators tend to be a bit overloaded but the results to the transaction are great. Things I like:
1. commission is laid out right up front, and it's usually at 6%
2. Homeowner more times than not they waive the deficiency balance (only two cases in the past year & half where they didn't)
3. Since the coop ss is done PRE-offer, you min. your buyers wait time. The seller and the property are fully qualified BEFORE the buyer has to wait and you know what the bank is looking for so you know if an offer will fly or not.
4. If you get a value that is too high, go back and request a FULL BPO dispute. You can usually handle valuation issues up front before you get your buyer in there and streamline the process.
5. Homeowners normally receive a min. of $2K (that's the lowest I've seen and that was over a year ago) which makes for a much more cooperative seller-and here in FL we had the FL incentive plan which gave the seller much more. Just had a cooperative ss close with the seller receiving $3000.00 coop incentive and $14,500.00 FL incentive (part of the approval was to be approved for a coop ss or like program).
Overall, it's a decent program once you understand it better. The key is to get the items into them pre-buyer and stay on them through review. Once it hit's the "marketing" phase you can get an offer...the price is not any more or less firm than it would have been if you did a traditional short sale, the difference is you have more information in a cooperative short sale. It's all based upon the BPO value and the investor guidelines in their internal loss matrix.
Good luck!
Keri :)
Hi, I am a former BofA short sale supervisor. Coop only means that it is not HAFA. Your seller can opt out of HAFA which previously had several guidelines and restrictions and then go non-HAFA aka Coop for a quicker turn around time. Negotiate cash for keys in lieu of the Hafa incentive and close quickly.
I have done one this year with Wells Fargo and it 2 hours to get approved and 30 days to close. Extremely smooth and simple process and it was no scam.
And you can negotiate for the HAFA money without the wait. Just ask for it.
I have had only one co-op short sale. I received a call from DTS that they have contacted the sellers to start a co-op short sale. We had it as a traditional short sale. The bank did not give us a price to list at. We sent an offer and the rep at dignified called and wanted the purchase price $2,000 higher and the buyer refused. So they accepted the original offer and the seller received $2,500 in Co-op SS relocation assistance and $4,370 for the Florida Incentive.
Our office is educated in the BofA proactive program in California. There are 3 programs:
1. BofA Co-op
2. HAFA
3. FHA
Co-op short sale process, the seller gets $2500. The 3k is if you go through the HAFA (FAnnie & Freddie eligibility). There are 3 approval letters you need to get and there are 9 steps. It has been streamlined and you have 120 days to market the property. Once an offer is received, it takes only 10 days to get the final approval letter from the investor.
The crux of any short sale, is the evaluations (the BPO or value) the bank puts on the property. With the proactive approach, you will need to list it at the investor listing price for 30 days. After 30 days, you can ask fro a price reduction. Coming in mid April, they will now change how evaluations are handled. If you reject their value, they will send you a BPO package and you will have to submit the paperwork, pictures and contractor's bid that support your value.
I personally like the traditional method because it gives me a better control over the short sale. However, that's because I consider myself as someone who knows what they are doing. For the average agent who loves the simplicity and the controls that BofA provides, then the co-op program works just fine in California. I cannot speak for other states as what Bryant says doesn't apply to our state (I wish it did!). They also don't pay for HOA delinquencies as we are not a super lien state.
I do a lot of Cooperative Short Sales with Bank of America in California, and I am generally the entity that initiates them. I have a inkling of the criteria B of A uses to qualify them, so when I spot a potential Co Op, I send the seller directly to Bank of America to start the process. I had 2 or 3 of them last week approved within 10 days of submission. I say, Yay, Bank of America! Plus, in California, sellers get $2,500 to $3,000. The latter is for Fannie Mae Cooperatives.
Elizabeth Weintraub
Broker-Associate #00697006
Lyon Real Estate
Sacramento Short Sale Agent
Hi Elizabeth,
Would you mind sharing what you feel the criteria to look for is?
Thank you!
I am currently doing a Co-op after submitting an offer. It's being handled by a 3rd Party on behalf of BOA. It's slow and they are not responding. Despite the fact that they already have a nice offer they are going through the "marketing phase" which basically means that they are determining a price to give me to list! What a waste of time! You have the offer - see ift it meets the net based on the appraisal that you have already done. 3rd part is AMO - Asset Management Outsourcing. Initially they were very good at communicating but once the seller signed the Coop agreement they have been more difficult. You still have to go through Equator so you end up doing more work. Have 2 new people assigned to the file but only found out afater talking to a customer service rep who was snippy when I told them that my assigned negotiator was no longer responding - they were only a customer service rep assigned to initially review the fie...Should be interesting no deficiency negotiaton, limited paperwork and a small stipend for relocation - $2K is the reason why we went with them instead of the other program they qualified which is HAFA.
Will let you know how it goes - Good luck with yours!
They also stressed that they automatically waive the deficiency and put it in writing plus the allowance.
Julissa. I LOVE the co-op program and have closed on many of them. Usually the seller doesn't have to provide any documentation, receives full waiver of deficiency and they get money at closing. I'm closing on 3 of these this week. In Florida some of my sellers have received as much as $15,000!!
BofA is very aggressive with price reductions. My experience is that they are begging me to submit a contract. The co-ops are outsourced and the outsources get paid a commission to get these deals closed.
I highly recommend that the seller go for it. If for some reason the price is too high just start disputing it immediately. Personally I have never had a pricing issue with a co-op
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