Lets face it, most agents cringe when they find out at a listing appointment that the 3rd party is lender is Bank Of America/Countrywide. In many ways, their reputation is well deserved. I was frustrated for many months trying to get 2 separate short sales in Daytona Beach approved with them. Each started in December, and just got approved in September.

Along the way, I dealt with the usual delays, lack of communication, and changes of negotiators. There were so many times that it would have been easy to pack it in. My determination to help these 2 families out of terrible situations kept me focused when all seemed quite hopeless. There are so many homes in Florida where the homeowners are under water with their mortgage.

I finally began to receive some cooperation when I asked for a supervisor...and got some contact information. It was a tedious process to get a response, but once I did, things started moving along. Its a fine line between getting their attention and getting your file buried.

My advice is to keep a running log of all attempted contacts with the bank and follow up on a very consistent basis. Mention prior dates of calls/emails and be friendly when you begin each conversation. You can make your point with putting the negotiator on the defensive. When I reached a supervisor, I was equally calm, and merely forwarded a long email string of my attempted communication. Once they were able to see my professional approach to documenting the file, they began to work with me. It wasn't long after that to receive the demand letter I had worked so hard for.

I learn something from each short sale, and use it to be more efficient with the next one.