Are all offers countered by BOA?
My husband and I are in the very early process of attempting to buy a short sale with BOA. I've heard from many people that BOA has publicly said they are going to push short sales through much faster, but after reading some of the current discussions on this board, that doesn't seem to be the case, which is unfortunate since both the seller as well as my husband and I are ready to move.
My question is this: The house we fell in love with is out of our comfortable price range listed at 219000, so we submitted an offer of 191000 which the listing wouldn't even submit to BOA saying that he knew they wouldn't accept it because it took him four months just to convince them to lower the asking price to 219000 from 249000. So we made another offer of 207000, which was submitted. Our agent made sure to tell the listing agent that this was our final offer and there would be no more negotiating on our end. Listing agent said he thought he could push BOA to get a response within two weeks. It's been a few days short of a week so far and I have been optimistic hoping they would accept, but again, from reading some of the messages here it seems as though they almost always come back with a counter offer. Has anyone had an offer that BOA accepted outright? We currently own a house that we don't need to sell to move, but the neighborhood is going downhill fast and we are very, very anxious to get out. I wish everyday that we had not fallen in love with a short sale, but that's just the way it worked out. At the end of the day, if they counter us, we will have lost all the time and will have to start over with house hunting.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sandra Early on
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Probably...I have a listing at 199,900 and the offer came in at 184,000. BA counters back with 204 and I told BA where in the heck did they get those comps? I sent them a slew of comparables but they didn't even want to hear it. Why would someone buy a house on a street with trailors when they now can buy a brick home in a nice neighborhood for 180K. We countered back with our original offer and are waiing for a response. I can not get 204K from anyone if I have to put it back on the market...geeze
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Permalink Reply by Steele V. Propp on
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Most banks will counter. As a long time bank owned homes listing agent, it is just a fact of life. In many cases they are just testing you to make sure you are serious as most of the offers that they get a quite low to start. You can always hold firm to your original offer and tell them you just can't go up anymore. But one little trick I learned long ago is even a minor increase can make all the difference. So if it were possible to go up another $500 it might work even better than just holding firm.
Now ultimately, they are deciding just how much of a loss that can take. And couple with that is what they have as the fair market value of the house. I strongly suggest you (through your agent) justify any offer with comparable sales. Show them why you are offering what you are offering.
Finally, be patient. You are fairly close. It might not take all that much to get together.
Steele in Minnesota -
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Permalink Reply by Alan Remigio on
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Jennifer,
You are in a tough situation. When there is emotion at play here, you'll almost always get sucked up in the process and the stress can permeate relationships. I may be wrong but it seems that most members on this site are RE agents and many make it their business to list pending short sales or REOs. They have a duty to the seller to get the best possible situation in the sale of the house. If you have signed with an agent to represent you, make sure the agent has good short sale/REO experience. They can now create an accurate Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) with "like and kind" comps. In other words they look for comparable property in comparable condition and with comparable challenges such as vacant, pre-foreclosure, repairs needed, etc.
It is a little more work for the agent, but worth it for you. The agents I employ in this area do that, The "guessing game" needs to be reduced so you can make a proper financial decision. If you and your husband are comfortable with a price range, you need to be aware that the short sale or REO listing may almost always have a price related either to the value of the liens or retail values for "move in" property. Proper research should give you an idea. Your agent should assist you in this area.
Lastly, if you are interested in a property, insist that you put money down with your contract. Most listing agents, in short sales, consistently and falsely believe they work for the lender and not the seller. For the agents out there, money down with a valid contract requires the lender(s) to examine that offer only and go through the qualifying process when the seller accepts the contract via signature. If the buyer's agent has done the homework to support your offer, works with the listing agent to start the short sale process, you now have to wait for the results. Your experienced agent can explain the process and the likelyhood of success. Be prepared to move on, if your parameters are not met. I don't know what state you are in, but, I use this process to buy my homes on the east coast. Good luck! -
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A true buyer agent is always a good idea. But as suggested not just a buyer agent but a buyer agent experienced in the purchase of short sales. And that does mean comparable sales and active listings that back up your offer.
Mind you, if you are offering below the market don't try and fib. This may back fire on you. But it is rare when you can't find some lower sales to justify your offer. Look for bank owned sales, REOs. Because that is what this property will turn into if it doesn't short sale.
Alan Remigio said:Jennifer,
You are in a tough situation. When there is emotion at play here, you'll almost always get sucked up in the process and the stress can permeate relationships. I may be wrong but it seems that most members on this site are RE agents and many make it their business to list pending short sales or REOs. They have a duty to the seller to get the best possible situation in the sale of the house. If you have signed with an agent to represent you, make sure the agent has good short sale/REO experience. They can now create an accurate Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) with "like and kind" comps. In other words they look for comparable property in comparable condition and with comparable challenges such as vacant, pre-foreclosure, repairs needed, etc.
It is a little more work for the agent, but worth it for you. The agents I employ in this area do that, The "guessing game" needs to be reduced so you can make a proper financial decision. If you and your husband are comfortable with a price range, you need to be aware that the short sale or REO listing may almost always have a price related either to the value of the liens or retail values for "move in" property. Proper research should give you an idea. Your agent should assist you in this area.
Lastly, if you are interested in a property, insist that you put money down with your contract. Most listing agents, in short sales, consistently and falsely believe they work for the lender and not the seller. For the agents out there, money down with a valid contract requires the lender(s) to examine that offer only and go through the qualifying process when the seller accepts the contract via signature. If the buyer's agent has done the homework to support your offer, works with the listing agent to start the short sale process, you now have to wait for the results. Your experienced agent can explain the process and the likelyhood of success. Be prepared to move on, if your parameters are not met. I don't know what state you are in, but, I use this process to buy my homes on the east coast. Good luck! -
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Good question. I think you may want to look at the appraisal vs the counter. BOA does a BPO and the appraiser will appraise the house per the market conditions and comparables. It doesnt matter what the counter is so much as does the appraisal by an independent appraiser. For ex: we had our home listed for $360k, bank BPO was $340k. Appraiser came in at $320k. We fought BOA because they wanted the buyer to pay cash for the difference of $20k Who has money to pay more for a house than they can get a loan? In the end, BOA gave up fighting with us and sold the home for $320k. It took a fight, but it can be done. They sit on short sales so long, the value drops as they are wasting time. That was my defense. If 5 months ago, they approved the sale, we would not be in this position.
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Permalink Reply by CJ Wright on
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Jennifer, I've seen it both ways. I've seen BOA accept on the first pass, and I've seen them counter repeatedly. It can go either way... Good Luck! thanx, cj
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Perdue on
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Thank you everyone for your input - it's much appreciated!
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