Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Barbara J. Rice on July 12, 2010 at 12:44am

Is your short sale request still showing in Equator or did they kick it out? If they kicked it out I would re-submit and this time provide all the documents (purchase agreement, list of repairs, photos of needed repairs, comps etc.), not just the offer price.
And remember that most of the people who answer the phone don't know enough to help you at this level of difficulty. You may need to keep pushing until you reach a VP level individual.

Permalink Reply by Ben Racela on July 12, 2010 at 3:18am

I've seen where Equator has rejected the Authorization quickly due to seller's name incorrectly spelled or other items. Also Equator will not process every loan type. Verify what type of loan the seller's have and then confirm with an Equator Rep (Not typical rep) that the loan can be worked in Equator. The 48 hours review request will fall on deaf ears only because the file is so "new" in the system.

The issue with the FMV. They must have a previous BPO/Appraisal done and I would ask when and how they came to the $201K value. As you know if it was older than 6 months they will have to order a new one. You can argue the value without spending any money and it is just simply submitting 2 comparables and a CMA. The strange thing is that they have told you that they have not done any type of valuation.

We've had many instances with equator that we simply have to "walk" the representative thru the details and history of the short sale. Once that is complete they will help.

Permalink Reply by Barbara Thomas on July 12, 2010 at 5:14am

Elise, I am experiencing a similar situation with a fight over "fair market value" on a deal in Equator. I think in my case the problem is partly that the amount owed on the loan is low enough that BofA thinks they can get close to a full payoff. The Negotiator has even said "We are not mitigating". The purchaser is an investor who is now no longer interested, so I am going to have to find a new retail buyer for the property in a hurry. They do have a recent appraisal -- but the appraiser was not from our area! And they won't look at any comps. The comment from the Negotiator was "I can only assume that he appraiser did his job professionally." All I can hope at this point is to buy enough time. I feel terrible for the Sellers because they have been so cooperative and so much as happened to them.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 12, 2010 at 7:46am

I suspect you got one of the brain-dead reps - I don't get them often. Usually, if you hear something funny, just call in and ask again.

BofA doesn't believe anyone but their own "employees". No way they'd believe your appraisal. I don't know who your investor is, if it is fannie mae, that means 2 bpos must be done and no more than 90 days old. BofA bows down to the almighty BPO regardless of anything that you say. If it is way off (I have one with a lot of damage, flooded basement, etc. and the BPO agent called the listing agent because she could not get in - guess whose BPO was WAY HIGH?), you can only drag it out until it is time for a new BPO. This time, WALK the BPO agent through the place - rub his nose in the mold in the basement, etc. I have too many agents that say "here's the key - enjoy" and then get a high BPO. That is probably the one most crucial bit of info in the whole process and they'd rather go have a coffee.

I would be amazed if BofA insists that nobody but you do the BPO and pay for it. Why should they trust your numbers? Call in again and ask...

Permalink Reply by Elise Fay on July 12, 2010 at 8:03am

Joe

Good advice except we DO NOT have a BPO and there was never one done on the property. They, BofA must have some sort of automated system they pull from to determine Fair Market Value and I don't know what the hell it is! I was told that until the price is acceptable on first glance to the bank, they will not order a BPO. I must have called in about 5-7 times and will do so again tomorrow.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 12, 2010 at 8:20am

Who is the investor? I've never run into such a thing and I've done maybe 50 through their wonderous new system. Once they have gotten a BPO for a property, they are likely to put a percentage of it into the gate at equator so that you cannot get it in unless you offer more. It took about a week until I ran into an intelligent rep who didn't just bow down to Equator but looked into it and saw that they had a BPO from 2006 in there, not the BPO from Mar 2010 in there - different? Yep. Fixed that and I could get it in. This was a file that Fannie Mae told us should breeze right through and we couldn't get it in.

I do have a negotiator on the inside who frequently gives me info - why something is done, etc. Something which would be easy for BofA to tell us, but they clearly wish to frustrate as many short sales as possible - my conclusion based upon what I see..

Elise Fay said:

Joe

Good advice except we DO NOT have a BPO and there was never one done on the property. They, BofA must have some sort of automated system they pull from to determine Fair Market Value and I don't know what the hell it is! I was told that until the price is acceptable on first glance to the bank, they will not order a BPO. I must have called in about 5-7 times and will do so again tomorrow.

Permalink Reply by Elise Fay on July 12, 2010 at 9:03am

Joe

The investor is Fannie Mae. I am just going to resubmit with a higher price and FULL documentation. If I get another runaround I may call on you, if you don't mind, for a contact that would at least be able to explain this junk to me. Thanks so much.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Payne on July 12, 2010 at 9:20am

If your offer gets rejected, RAISE the number that you are putting in to initiate and then put the real number in when you upload all of the documents :) It works

Permalink Reply by Elise Fay on July 12, 2010 at 9:58am

I did actual think of that but changed my mind....now I will. Oh and I finally got BofA to order an appraisal. I will be meeting them out there on Wed. Thank you to everyone who has given me their expert advice.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 12, 2010 at 4:56pm

It seems that there is a great deal of "chance" in run-around-ed-ness that you get. Getting a bum negotiator, bad BPO, some other strange thing - luck of the draw. It is best to stay on top of things. Reps tend to be "good guys" and often feel the same as you about the situation. If you feel stuck for some reason, ask them for advice - sometimes you'll get something new, often they will do the best possible thing - they like helping.

So far, I've only found the same horrible thing a 2nd time around when clearly someone at BofA has a thing against the file - that has happened once, and with the help of an inside negotiator, I had it confirmed - someone set Equator to only accept a number as large as what is owed and nothing less. I lost months trying to get that thing in Equator - and ran into the occasional insanely brain-dead rep who would insist that it was an insufficient offer - even after I told him/her that I then doubled the sales price and tripled it and it was still rejected. You just have to get those vile things off of your phone as soon as possible - easier to try logic on your office wall.

Take heart, you will probably be OK the 2nd time. If you find a serious $$ issue, drag it out past the 90 days and get fresh BPOs -- and for heaven sake, accompany the agent and point out every bad thing in the neighborhood, etc. There is NOTHING absolutely NOTHING you can do about a bad BPO but wait until you can get another one done. So, skip the nice little coffee out with the friends and dog that agent through the property - or potentially spend months wishing you had. Oh, also, if things drag, need to escalate, because you've lost a buyer, recently they added "fast track". Ask the rep to fast track your file. I can't say if it does anything, I think so. I'm too busy with all the many files and issues at the moment. [Oh, and if I were an agent, I would take these problems and hand them to a company like ours - no way I'd spend all that time on the phone and begging to get a short sale done. An agent usually has better money making things to do with his/her time. Too painful, not cost-effective, too much learning curve, too much time. But, that is me...HA! Although I suppose it isn't so bad to get a taste of short sales and banks..]

Elise Fay said:

Joe

The investor is Fannie Mae. I am just going to resubmit with a higher price and FULL documentation. If I get another runaround I may call on you, if you don't mind, for a contact that would at least be able to explain this junk to me. Thanks so much.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 12, 2010 at 5:11pm

Nope, I've done maybe 30 of these since the equator system started and have another 20 or some such the majority are fannie mae. I have one oddball that has been in the investor's hands for 19 days now and this poor thing was the 1st thrown into the pit last Oct. The rest seems to have not that sort of anomaly. Fannie mae REQUIRES 2 BPO's - not maybe, not if BofA would like - REQUIRES. Now, I've seen them do a fake one, I've seen them call 1 BPO 2 BPOs, but they have to have that BPO and it has to be current. 90 days. After that, even if you would have the approval and have 30 days to close, they will not allow that unless a BPO is covering those days - at least that has happened to me. There is NO way they will ask or accept paperwork from you. I don't know who you talked to but they are clueless. Nope, not BofA not Fannie Mae - that is their rule - 2 BPO's - not zero and you BYOBpo... nope - never. How could they do their NPV? That is when they take the investors numbers, and the bpo to come up with their criteria (net property value, btw).

Did I make that sound strong? Well, out of all that I have done and am doing, this has been the case. They've ignored engineering surveys and reports and certified appraisals - and certainly CMA's - I don't know that they ever believed CMA's, but I will submit with comments hoping to catch someone's eye. Since the track agents and their "grade card", I'm hoping that they will notice that I tell it like it is - no bull. But that is expecting too much for 90% of the negotiators.

I hope to be talking to Fannie Mae tomorrow - a first for me - I have my fingers crossed. [With an agreement in hand, BofA refused to stop the sheriff sale last friday - a lot of work went into that - 5 other buyers gave up, I guess they couldn't shake this one so stole the house out from under her. I'm hoping (not necessarily believing) that Fannie Mae who will lose the money here, will do something about this - and maybe open a way to get real short sales done. OK, I believe in Mom and apple pie, too.... ;-)

Elise Fay said:

Joe

Good advice except we DO NOT have a BPO and there was never one done on the property. They, BofA must have some sort of automated system they pull from to determine Fair Market Value and I don't know what the hell it is! I was told that until the price is acceptable on first glance to the bank, they will not order a BPO. I must have called in about 5-7 times and will do so again tomorrow.

Permalink Reply by Kemp Hooper on July 13, 2010 at 1:36am

A person in management told me just to put the higher number in to get past that. Once in you upload your contract, etc. Again, the perfect system is not so perfect. Its amazing or alarming that such a large group can do such dumb things!! Reminds me of a gov't I know.
I understand how this happens. Most banks are doing a BPO(drive by) as early as when the borrower goes 30 days down to check on the property. Usually to make sure its still there. Take for instance, the bank does a true BPO when the borrower goes 90 down, you submit or try, an offer at say 180 down then the value will be off in a declining market!

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