Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kyle Souza on July 19, 2010 at 1:28pm

The agent can if they have the information from the borrower for the account.

Permalink Reply by Cinda Rose on July 19, 2010 at 1:39pm

Thank you!!

Permalink Reply by Katerina Gasset on July 19, 2010 at 2:24pm

We always upload the documents in behalf of our sellers.

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on July 19, 2010 at 2:29pm

there are some tasks that must be done by the homeowner, there are some tasks that you as the Realtor are assined to complete. If you complete the financial info for your seller, you are leaving yourself vulnerable if something "goes wrong", it may seem like a small issue, and mostly likely nothiing will "go wrong" but if it does....

what's the big deal with the seller completing their own information?

Permalink Reply by Cinda Rose on July 19, 2010 at 3:33pm

Wendy, I'm going to have to agree with you. That's pretty much what I was thinking as well. Why add more liability to the short sale? Most sellers have access to computers. But what do you do if they don't?

Thanks Wendy.

Permalink Reply by Janie Booth on July 19, 2010 at 4:38pm

Wendy, remember that Equator has a help line for the seller 1-866-880-1232 to not only set up their portal, but walk them through the process. One of my technology challenged clients said how patient they were with walking her through how to upload the financial statement. She has a computer, but not a scanner. I first gave her the form below to print out and use for gathering the financial information and she actually did it! And I think she is nearly 70! Since scanning and uploading are beyond her current capabilities, I did help her scan and upload the additional financial documents and hardship letter that she provided me. And yes, Kyle is right, your seller can share their email and password with you once they have initiated the call to Customer Service and set up their homeowner portal. Maybe someone else has an easier way, but my thinking is that whatever the seller can do for themselves, the should! If they are unable, then who else is is going help them if we don't? I'm a bit of a technotard myself, so hopefully the pdf below uploaded ok and will be of help.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 19, 2010 at 7:15pm

It looks like you're a pro at this - what is the method that you use to upload the info? Do you play the silly BofA seller game of going through the seller email address or do you get away with putting it into the library? I've had a few reps recently tell me that I can upload to the library. More recently, I've had a couple of negotiators (or whatever the heck they were - all those ghosts in the night claim to be negotiators) say that they must be uploaded in the seller area - even when I have put them in the exact same format in the library. So, with the thinking negotiators, I've been able to just load that stuff into the library, with the others, I have to play their games. It is stupid, takes freakin forever with all the typo's to set up the email and it is always infuriating that some pinhead in a backroom of BofA threatens to fire any rep who helps "an agent" set up a sellers address. They will quote that it is a security thing to which I'll ask that if I set up the password and I upload the data and there is no other data there, how is that a security risk? Well, that's what they are told blah blah. "Oh, did you read my authorization? You know, the one that they signed saying that I am **everyone** to the bank, don't bother them, go away -- that one?" Yeah, but I'll get fired if I help you... HA! what a hoot.

So, what techniques do you use?

Katerina Gasset said:

We always upload the documents in behalf of our sellers.

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Lim on July 22, 2010 at 12:14am

I usually upload the information for the sellers as well. I give them a blank copy I made of the Equator screens and have them fill the information out completely. Then I can ask questions if it looks like they have omitted something and have them revise it to make it complete. Then I print the screens, e-mail it to them, and have them confirm via e-mail what I input matches what they sent me. They send me all of their documentation as well which I upload directly. I still have them do a signed hardship letter which I upload into the library (not a required step but I hate the small little BOA boxes that requires information be truncated. I have found that usually the seller's hardship takes longer to explain than that little box.)

In cases where a "not so nice" negotiator has gone in and wiped out info and closed the file...once it's reinitiated I will upload all of the old financial data into Equator in the library manually since this requires the seller call in and reset their online account. When I do this, I have found that the buyer may not have to go in and reset their account...the negotiator may just work off of the Equator information. This probably all depends on the negotiator. Some are far more difficult to work with than others.

Permalink Reply by Jake Bowers on July 22, 2010 at 3:04am

One precaution that should be observed IMO: Exchange of sensitive personal info, like SSN or even partial SSN, should not be done via email. An emailed fill-in version of Equator, or any typically 'open' format like email text, is pretty much wide-open to hacking to get at that sensitive info. As a SS buyer, I refused to fill in certain senstive info on an open email, and arranged with my agent so that I could call the selling agent directly to give this info on the phone for Equator entry. No one wants to inadvertantly set up a situation where such sensitive info for a seller or buyer can be stolen.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 23, 2010 at 4:28pm

Oh, I donno.. Several lifetimes ago, internet was this ad-hoc thing which went through university basements, etc. At that time, long before browsers, many students had access to stuff floating through their machines. At that time, yes, internet was unsafe. That was a loooonnngg time ago. Internet connections are serious business now, you aren't going to find comcast sending your stuff through The Lazy-J bar and college machines, you know?

So, in what way is email so much less safe than calling some person on a phone to give the information to? Exactly what super criteria did you use to ensure that this voice is employed at BofA, is one with the proper authority to take your privileged secrets, that you dialed the right number? What scandals have there been about stolen email? No, they weren't stolen email they were hacked machines or stolen machines. The email made it where it was supposed to go. However, newscasters get people to watch by glitzing stuff up - like the FBI finding a "bomber" who had a pack of matches as a fuse next to a can of gasoline. Yeah, a real bomb - kinda like the way a bunch of fishermen drive around in their trucks - OK, with a pack of smokes there, too. Yeah, a real bomber.. Yeah, email is a real threat - compared to what? Fax to some random number? Phone call to some random person? No, email is pretty solid and leaves a decent trail - unlike a phone call.

Now, if you have some way of stealing email to read this sensitive material, I'd like to hear it. I've been surprised before, so I could have missed something. On the other hand, SSN? $29.95 on the internet to a bunch of different places will get you that and a lot more data.

Jake Bowers said:

One precaution that should be observed IMO: Exchange of sensitive personal info, like SSN or even partial SSN, should not be done via email. An emailed fill-in version of Equator, or any typically 'open' format like email text, is pretty much wide-open to hacking to get at that sensitive info. As a SS buyer, I refused to fill in certain senstive info on an open email, and arranged with my agent so that I could call the selling agent directly to give this info on the phone for Equator entry. No one wants to inadvertantly set up a situation where such sensitive info for a seller or buyer can be stolen.