Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wendy Rulnick on August 25, 2010 at 2:26am

Mike - You should have an answer in 60-120 days total. The negotiator gets assigned fairly quickly. 3 weeks in... the Broker Price Opinion or appraisal should be about complete, if it was not already active in BOFA's system. If your offer is around market value, then you won't get a counter at all.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on August 31, 2010 at 3:38am

It can be all over the map. A great deal depends upon the negotiator. They can be complete (something that BofA does completely for a change?) idiots. I have one seeming to be egged on by a team lead - stupid, bad combo - wasting months - to the point that I don't care anymore - just give me an answer, any answer but don't expect 1 more penny.

I don't think an average is good to go by here. They vary so widely. A few are smooth like they should be. Way too many have something bizarre pop up to waste time. You can think you have someone fixing a delay and after they do the wrong thing, there is nothing but silence from ANYBODY connected to the account. It is just all over the board.

I try to get up to date info in, stay on their backs, if there is an issue, I mention it often (memories of goldfish and they don't read the docs in front of them - most of the people that is), and continually ask if I can help speed things. Oh, and praying or doing sacrifices (depending upon your deity) seems to help as much as anything.

Or, hey, you might make it through unscathed in a month! [Is that when you get the notice of approval, walk outside and get run over by a beer truck? HA!]

Permalink Reply by Jake Bowers on September 3, 2010 at 9:17am

We also are buyers in a short sale. Purchase contract was signed on June 14, and submission into Equator done within days. Appraisal done in 2 weeks after submission into Equator, and 1st negotiator appeared. Since then, nothing of any substance. Seller's agent reports 6th negotiation just recently assigned; how true that is, is something we have no way to verify (that I know of). And our agent is trying her best to work the seller's agent for info, but is not succeeding.

My view of what is happening on our case: Seller's agent not willing to put in the required time to make this move along; he does a lot of property management. He also does not fully understand the process IMO, evidenced by the fact that he responded to my persistence in asking who actually holds the mortgage, and is there MI, by just asking the sellers these questions. (The sellers do not likely know, if the note is sold.) Bottom line to you, Mike: getting your agent to be able to successfully work with the seller's agent can be a key. In our case, the seller's agent is finally getting wise that he can't handle this well enough and is working on getting a negotiator in the process. (He's selected a local legal beagle, so this may be better or worse....!)

Three are other possible complicating factors in our deal. (For example this is a 2nd home, which rents in the summer, so the sellers have negative motivation to sell during peak rental season.) But the bottom line to you is that I would not say that there are any average times; each deal has it's own set of circumstances.

IMO, you should spend a lot of time just reading and reading posts on this site. If you invest enough time here, you will understand a lot of what does and can happen. (I am very appreciateive of, and impressed by, all the open info sharing that appears here.) Then get on your (buyer's) agent to find out how closely the seller's agent is willing to work with you as a team to try to get things to happen. Some agents have good rapport, some do not, some are jealous of their position and perogatives, and some will fall back into the old standard mode of real estate sales (where they handle what can be acrimonious negotiations between buyer and seller). Unfortunately, that is not of much use in a short sale process, as the buyer-seller deal is not the key negotiation here; it's between mortgage-holder, MI if applicable, and seller. (But our agents don't appear to have fully adjusted to this difference.)

Geting a team approach on this deal (between agents and buyer and seller) is your first step, IMO. If that works out (and you may be lucky to get a seller's agent who knows his/her stuff on this short sale biz), then actually negotiating successfully with the mortage holder, and possibly MI, is the next set of steps.

Good luck!