Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tara Samney on March 3, 2012 at 4:36am

Hi Brian,

 

First off- 30 days is not very long in short sale land!

 

Second, you actually will never have any direct contact with NationStar nor will your agent- neither are authorized to speak with the seller's lender.

 

Your agent could ask for the the listing agent to update them on what their last task was in Nationstar (find out what status it is in)- I'm assuming "verify offer".  For me I was stuck in verify offer (listing agent) for 3 weeks.  Agent guidelines acted like it should just be a few days.  I was told repeatedly it was because they were backed up- finally the negotiator wrote and apologized and asked for updated financials. I don't know that calling actually helped or if they were just backed up. It went fairly quickly after that.  Approval from time offer uploaded approx 9 weeks- got last week.  There was a 3 week period with absolutely no updates on Equator. Negotiator has been very responsive since being assigned.

 

You don't give what percentage of market value your offer was so hard to make any educated guess what acceptance would be. 

 

The second mortgage will complicate the approval.  There could be delays in negotiating if they won't accept what first offers.

 

You are very early in this process- I hear your frustration though in not getting updates.  Sometimes, the listing agent has none but ask your agent to get weekly updates even if just nothing has happenned. 

 

Good luck and hope you get it!

 

Permalink Reply by briank on March 3, 2012 at 4:43am

Tara, thanks for the quick reply. Sorry, our offer as a % of market value is 92%+, at the very least. It is likely 95%+. I am estimating the home to be worth between $320 (100%) and $350 (92% and also the list price) based on recent comps. I will have my agent reach out to the selling agent to get the status in equator. However, she does not have access either, only the seller's attorney who is managing the file. Any thoughts on acceptance would be greatly appreciated!

From you response about being told repeatedly, it sounds like you have had frequent discussions with NS. The selling agent and attorney has had no communication to NS to date. You do not think that is concerning?

Again, we are patient, I just want to make sure we are tackling this process as pro-actively as we can, even though there are numerous layers between me and the bank.

Should NS order a BPO before negotiating with second mortgage lender? Sorry for all of the questions, just trying to better educate myself.

Permalink Reply by Tara Samney on March 3, 2012 at 4:39am

I have also read on here also about the buyer preapproval from NationStar.  I just got approval this week and the buyer was never asked to get preapproved by NationStar.  The investor was Freddie Mac- so perhaps it is investor related.

Permalink Reply by Tara Samney on March 3, 2012 at 4:56am

Brian,

 

92% of market value sounds good.  Do you know who investor is or if there is mortgage insurance?  If not you may want your agent to ask.  The MI has a certain spread of coverage such as only going up to 65% of loan- and could complicate approval.  Each approval is another step- and wait.

As you and your agent do not exactly know what the attorney has been doing....who knows what has been discussed with NationStar.

I will say they do not want to discuss it on the phone and want everything done through Equator (as many do who use it).  I believe my calls were actually futile as they kept saying you need to refer to Equator and wait.  Ask for a snapshot from the attorney (or whoever is managing Equator) from the Equator screen and see what status it is in.  Like I said mine was in Verify offer for 3 weeks- it could be they are running slow but I would want to see what status is.  It is nothing for listing agent to take a snapshot and I do it all the time for transperancy- it helps keep everyone involved.

 

NationStar will never negotiate with the 2nd lender (unless it is far far along and attempts have been futile and investors agree to it- I've always had negotiators advise against it due to the wait).  That is all on the attorney or agent who is handling the sale.  The 2nd will have another paper copy of a short sale package mailed in.  Be sure to ask how that is going.  In 30 days though- likely not much of anything.  Be sure they have at least acknowledged receipt and have everything (although in short sale land- they lose things, negotiators get reassigned, all kinds of things happen)

 

Nationstar didn't order a BPO until at least 45 days after I submitted an offer. The 2nd will order their own BPO (both will be confidential).  NationStar was very good in this process- although my approval was not complicated by a 2nd.

 

I would put together a list of questions and send them to your agent to find out.  The 2nd is a wild card!

 

Do you know how far seller is behind?  Sometimes they take longer if not behind or not very far.

 

Permalink Reply by briank on March 3, 2012 at 5:08am

Tara, this is all great info and is further educating me in the process. Unfortunately, I am not sure if they have MI and I do not know when they stopped paying, although I think it is at least a year as it has been listed as a short sale for quite some time now (approx 6 months). Again, I could be completely wrong.

So both short sale packages (first and second mortgage) are typically processing simultaneously? Am I understanding that correctly? If so, I was not aware of that. Last question, do you ever find out what the seller currently owes on the mortgage when representing a buyer? Is there an easier way to find this out than blatantly asking? I could see where this could be sensitive to the process.

I will reach out to my agent to find out the following in another week or so:

- Update from attorney/seller agent of status of both files in Equator (with screen shots)

- Whether or not the seller has MI

- How long the seller has been delinquent

- Currently owed mortgage(s) balances (pending agent advice)

Thanks again for all of the info!

Permalink Reply by Tara Samney on March 3, 2012 at 5:18am

No problem at all!

 

Yes, both short sale packages are processed at the same time.  No problem at all with asking what seller owes on each. Agents ask all the time and all my sellers have been fine disclosing. Don't let that scare you though b/c many short sales get approved on homes way underwater as long as they are within 10-12% of market value (at least in my experience) and there is true hardship.

 

Also ask if the foreclosure process has started.  Not necessarily a deal breaker but can give you an idea of urgency of time.

 

Yes- your list sounds good.

 

Ask also who investor is on the 1st....many will only give no more than 6% of the unpaid balance of the 2nd- and many seconds won't take that. 

Permalink Reply by briank on March 3, 2012 at 6:00am

Great. I will update you as well as others with the info I am provided next week. It is always good to get an unbiased opinion of the situation and this is a great forum to do it. Thanks for all the help Tara. Have a great weekend!

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on March 3, 2012 at 1:47pm

@Brian - all short sales are not created equal.  There are factors that you nor the buyers agent can possibly know that affect your particular transaction (on the seller side).  You'll drive yourself nuts if you try to "standardize" the short sale process.  Nationstar is pretty good to work with, who knows about the attorney handling the short sale - some are great and others stink -- hopefully your agent will keep on top of it.  If your offer is truly 92% of FMV (not necessarily list), it should work out.  Good luck!

Permalink Reply by briank on March 3, 2012 at 3:12pm

Wendy, thanks. I completely understand that this could take weeks or could take more than a year. We are patient and are fortunate that we do not have any time constraints besides the obvious foreclosure of the home we are trying to purchase (any maybe interest rates or market value increasing). Just wanted to make sure I was learning and doing as much as I can, which the info I received today surely will help. Was more looking for some feedback on what people have been experiencing with Nationstar as it of recently. Have you had any in the last 6 months or so?

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on March 4, 2012 at 8:44am

yes, I have a NS that is in closing now; another one we are challenging the BPO, and I can think of at least 2 other files that were NS that closed in the last couple of months (sometimes remembering which lender on which property starts to blur after awhile w/o checking files)

variables include the investor, GSE or not (Freddie or Fannie), MI (mortgage insurance) - and sadly, a lot depends on the negotiator - they are only human and some should find a different line of work

NS uses the same platform as BoA, Wells Fargo and a few others:  Equator - with NS, it makes things a bit easier. 

Good luck to you, it sounds like you made a good offer.  You should be able to get an update from your agent regularly, unfortunately the short sale world is slow paced.

 

Permalink Reply by briank on March 5, 2012 at 12:10pm

Wendy, Tara and Others,

Sure enough, the seller's attorney reached out to me today to tell me that NS needed the buyer pre-approval application filled out! At least I know NS has seen my file now and hopefully the buyer pre-approval is the only thing missing. 

Has anyone here dealt with short sales in the South Florida market? I know you think my offer is a good one, but in the short sale and foreclosure capital of the nation, shorts sales are the market. From what I have heard, most banks are asking buyers to come up to 100% of BPO amounts here. I am hoping that is not the case, or that the BPO comes in lower than what I anticipate the high-end of the market to be for the property.  

Permalink Reply by briank on March 13, 2012 at 3:38pm

Just an update here. On day 26 I provided the NS buyer loan application to the sellers attorney as mentioned above. On day 33 (yesterday), the BPO was already ordered and completed! We are expecting the bank to get it by this Friday.

Hopefully this is an indicator of the speed we will continue to move at. We are keeping our fingers crossed. If the bank gets back to us with an approval or counter in the next 2 weeks, that would be ideal in my opinion.

What has everyone's experience been from time of BPO completed to bank approval? I was able to find out that there is no MI nor has the foreclosure started, but was not able to find our remaining mortgage balances.

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