I am a buyer currently working on a short sale. Litton is the first lien holder and Bank of America is the 2nd lien holder. I am working with the listing agent for the property, who has been working through the short sale process. Litton sent us an approval letter on our offer the first part of March 2010 and they have approved the sale and have only allowed $3k to go to the 2nd lien holder. Our listing agent is currently working through Equator to get Bank of America to approve the sale. After the listing agent was set up to use Equator, they were asked to send the seller's financial information. However Bank of America has not requested anything further, and it has been almost three weeks since the financial information was sent. The listing agent has received no response since then, despite constant requests and attempted phone conversations with anyone from Bank of America. I already have documents at the title company and I am ready to purchase, but Bank of America is non-responsive. Has anyone had experience working through Equator with Bank of America as the second lien holder? Is it handled the same as if Bank of America is the first mortgage holder (are the steps the same)? Shoulld the listing agent be sending additional documentation, such as the purchase and sale contract and Litton's approval letter before they have been officially requested by Bank of America through Equator. If anyone has any ideas/advice, I would sure appreciate them. Thanks.
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Bank of America is VERY SLOW. It can take up to 1 month after accepting one of their counter offers to actually get an approval letter. They are just so overwhelmed with files. I know you're thinking, What the Heck? They have everything, why can't they just issue the darn approval letter! I'm in the same boat with my files.
The listing agent should send a message through the Equator system once she's pulled up your file & hit the CTRL button to send the message to the Negotiator, AVP, SVP, VP, Team Leader, Manager etc. Your listing agent will get an email that bounces back from one of these people stating that "they're out of the office, or won't be back til Monday, etc" , then she'll have their email address. Email them, be nice and see if they can tell you what's going on.
Emily,
Thanks for the information thus far! The listing agent has received a task to upload the Third Party Authorization, which was requested around the 10th of March, however she has not received any other tasks at this point, despite repeated attempts to inquire about additional tasks. I have a couple of questions, I am hoping you can help me with. When you mention using the CTRL button below, is this how you escalate a request? If not, how can the listing agent escalate a request? Also, the seller has not created an account with Equator and has not uploaded any financial information at this point. Does the generic negotiator need to assign a task for the seller to upload their financial package? Everything I have read on this site indicates that the seller needs to upload their financials and that the listing agent can't do it for them. Is this correct? Does the seller need to upload their financials if the lien is a 2nd mortgage? If the seller does need to upload their financials, how do they go about setting up their equator account and have it refferenced to the same account as the listing agent? One final question is that at the beginning of the process with Equator, the listing agent was assigned an actual negotiator, but now she has a generic negotiator. Does this mean anything? I apologize for all of the questions, but if you have answers to any of these, I would be much appreciative. Thanks!
Emily S. Knell said:Bank of America is VERY SLOW. It can take up to 1 month after accepting one of their counter offers to actually get an approval letter. They are just so overwhelmed with files. I know you're thinking, What the Heck? They have everything, why can't they just issue the darn approval letter! I'm in the same boat with my files.
The listing agent should send a message through the Equator system once she's pulled up your file & hit the CTRL button to send the message to the Negotiator, AVP, SVP, VP, Team Leader, Manager etc. Your listing agent will get an email that bounces back from one of these people stating that "they're out of the office, or won't be back til Monday, etc" , then she'll have their email address. Email them, be nice and see if they can tell you what's going on.
Once the 3rd party authorization has been uploaded, it usually takes 24-48hrs before the next task is assigned and that is to upload the contracts, this is where you, the buyer will be asked for your first 5 digits of your SS #, your DOB, phone number, address, the listing agent will also need your mortgage lenders' phone number, address and email address, approx. loan rate you're going to get and your other loan info like down payment.
The seller does not need an Equator account. They need to call in to BofA at 866-880-1232 and tell them that they need to set up a username & password for the Bank of America short sale website, this is different from Equator.
Have the listing agent call in to BofA and ask for someone trained in Equator support, if she isn't being prompted to upload contracts after doing the 3rd party authorization upload.
Even though this is a $3k payoff to a 2nd lien, BofA still treats the process the same as though they were in 1st position. BofA is taking a long time, it could be 60 days before you get an approval start to finish. We are all hoping an praying that things will pick up with BofA once the HAFA guidelines kick in on April 5th.
don't just rely on Equator and its' system, CALL IN (have the listing agent call in)
You, as the buyer, with the information stated above, let the listing agent do their job, don't call & harass them every day. It is out of our control with how long BofA takes to approve anything.
David A said:Emily,
Thanks for the information thus far! The listing agent has received a task to upload the Third Party Authorization, which was requested around the 10th of March, however she has not received any other tasks at this point, despite repeated attempts to inquire about additional tasks. I have a couple of questions, I am hoping you can help me with. When you mention using the CTRL button below, is this how you escalate a request? If not, how can the listing agent escalate a request? Also, the seller has not created an account with Equator and has not uploaded any financial information at this point. Does the generic negotiator need to assign a task for the seller to upload their financial package? Everything I have read on this site indicates that the seller needs to upload their financials and that the listing agent can't do it for them. Is this correct? Does the seller need to upload their financials if the lien is a 2nd mortgage? If the seller does need to upload their financials, how do they go about setting up their equator account and have it refferenced to the same account as the listing agent? One final question is that at the beginning of the process with Equator, the listing agent was assigned an actual negotiator, but now she has a generic negotiator. Does this mean anything? I apologize for all of the questions, but if you have answers to any of these, I would be much appreciative. Thanks!
Emily S. Knell said:Bank of America is VERY SLOW. It can take up to 1 month after accepting one of their counter offers to actually get an approval letter. They are just so overwhelmed with files. I know you're thinking, What the Heck? They have everything, why can't they just issue the darn approval letter! I'm in the same boat with my files.
The listing agent should send a message through the Equator system once she's pulled up your file & hit the CTRL button to send the message to the Negotiator, AVP, SVP, VP, Team Leader, Manager etc. Your listing agent will get an email that bounces back from one of these people stating that "they're out of the office, or won't be back til Monday, etc" , then she'll have their email address. Email them, be nice and see if they can tell you what's going on.
Emily,
Thanks again for all this great information! I have just felt helpless before we found this website. One other quick question, when you say have the listing agent call in and talk to someone trained in Equator support if she isn't being prompted to upload contracts, is this escalating? Or, is there a different way to escalate the files?
Emily S. Knell said:Once the 3rd party authorization has been uploaded, it usually takes 24-48hrs before the next task is assigned and that is to upload the contracts, this is where you, the buyer will be asked for your first 5 digits of your SS #, your DOB, phone number, address, the listing agent will also need your mortgage lenders' phone number, address and email address, approx. loan rate you're going to get and your other loan info like down payment.
The seller does not need an Equator account. They need to call in to BofA at 866-880-1232 and tell them that they need to set up a username & password for the Bank of America short sale website, this is different from Equator.
Have the listing agent call in to BofA and ask for someone trained in Equator support, if she isn't being prompted to upload contracts after doing the 3rd party authorization upload.
Even though this is a $3k payoff to a 2nd lien, BofA still treats the process the same as though they were in 1st position. BofA is taking a long time, it could be 60 days before you get an approval start to finish. We are all hoping an praying that things will pick up with BofA once the HAFA guidelines kick in on April 5th.
don't just rely on Equator and its' system, CALL IN (have the listing agent call in)
You, as the buyer, with the information stated above, let the listing agent do their job, don't call & harass them every day. It is out of our control with how long BofA takes to approve anything.
David A said:Emily,
Thanks for the information thus far! The listing agent has received a task to upload the Third Party Authorization, which was requested around the 10th of March, however she has not received any other tasks at this point, despite repeated attempts to inquire about additional tasks. I have a couple of questions, I am hoping you can help me with. When you mention using the CTRL button below, is this how you escalate a request? If not, how can the listing agent escalate a request? Also, the seller has not created an account with Equator and has not uploaded any financial information at this point. Does the generic negotiator need to assign a task for the seller to upload their financial package? Everything I have read on this site indicates that the seller needs to upload their financials and that the listing agent can't do it for them. Is this correct? Does the seller need to upload their financials if the lien is a 2nd mortgage? If the seller does need to upload their financials, how do they go about setting up their equator account and have it refferenced to the same account as the listing agent? One final question is that at the beginning of the process with Equator, the listing agent was assigned an actual negotiator, but now she has a generic negotiator. Does this mean anything? I apologize for all of the questions, but if you have answers to any of these, I would be much appreciative. Thanks!
Emily S. Knell said:Bank of America is VERY SLOW. It can take up to 1 month after accepting one of their counter offers to actually get an approval letter. They are just so overwhelmed with files. I know you're thinking, What the Heck? They have everything, why can't they just issue the darn approval letter! I'm in the same boat with my files.
The listing agent should send a message through the Equator system once she's pulled up your file & hit the CTRL button to send the message to the Negotiator, AVP, SVP, VP, Team Leader, Manager etc. Your listing agent will get an email that bounces back from one of these people stating that "they're out of the office, or won't be back til Monday, etc" , then she'll have their email address. Email them, be nice and see if they can tell you what's going on.
I would recommend sending the HUD and approval letter from Litton to the negotiator's email address at B of A. You can find the email address on the Equator website. B of A is kinda weird with their seconds. If you still do not hear back from the negotiator within a couple of days, then call Equator every single day and have them document your issue. By the time you call (complain) 4 times, they might transfer you to a supervisor who might be able to help. I agree with all of the other replies to this discussion that B of A will take about a month for a response whether or not you can close with cash today.
Tiffany,
Thanks for your help. Since the listing agent only has a generic negotiator at this point, is it possible to get an email address for a negotiator that could help the listing agent? I as well as the listing agent are still a little unclear about how you escalate a concern with B of A's nonresponsiveness. Do you have any insight with how to escalate files or concerns? Do you just contact the Equator folks (who may or may not be able to help)?
Tiffany Alleshouse said:I would recommend sending the HUD and approval letter from Litton to the negotiator's email address at B of A. You can find the email address on the Equator website. B of A is kinda weird with their seconds. If you still do not hear back from the negotiator within a couple of days, then call Equator every single day and have them document your issue. By the time you call (complain) 4 times, they might transfer you to a supervisor who might be able to help. I agree with all of the other replies to this discussion that B of A will take about a month for a response whether or not you can close with cash today.
Every single agent doing a BofA short sale want their file to be escalated. Your file will likely not be escalated unless there is some impending doom like an auction date scheduled for 2wks from now.
You can ask for a file escalation, but you're likely to just be in the same boat as we all are. BofA is inundated with short sale requests. Your file seems to have hit a speed bump by not adding the 2nd task of Offer Upload, just have the listing agent call in and let them know what the problem is so she can continue uploading the offer & supporting documentation.
Then you go on vacation for 2mos, when you get back, you may have an approval letter. Kind of like when you're at a restaurant, you're starving and you know that if you go to the bathroom, by the time you get back your food is there waiting for you.
David A said:Emily,
Thanks again for all this great information! I have just felt helpless before we found this website. One other quick question, when you say have the listing agent call in and talk to someone trained in Equator support if she isn't being prompted to upload contracts, is this escalating? Or, is there a different way to escalate the files?
Emily S. Knell said:Once the 3rd party authorization has been uploaded, it usually takes 24-48hrs before the next task is assigned and that is to upload the contracts, this is where you, the buyer will be asked for your first 5 digits of your SS #, your DOB, phone number, address, the listing agent will also need your mortgage lenders' phone number, address and email address, approx. loan rate you're going to get and your other loan info like down payment.
The seller does not need an Equator account. They need to call in to BofA at 866-880-1232 and tell them that they need to set up a username & password for the Bank of America short sale website, this is different from Equator.
Have the listing agent call in to BofA and ask for someone trained in Equator support, if she isn't being prompted to upload contracts after doing the 3rd party authorization upload.
Even though this is a $3k payoff to a 2nd lien, BofA still treats the process the same as though they were in 1st position. BofA is taking a long time, it could be 60 days before you get an approval start to finish. We are all hoping an praying that things will pick up with BofA once the HAFA guidelines kick in on April 5th.
don't just rely on Equator and its' system, CALL IN (have the listing agent call in)
You, as the buyer, with the information stated above, let the listing agent do their job, don't call & harass them every day. It is out of our control with how long BofA takes to approve anything.
David A said:Emily,
Thanks for the information thus far! The listing agent has received a task to upload the Third Party Authorization, which was requested around the 10th of March, however she has not received any other tasks at this point, despite repeated attempts to inquire about additional tasks. I have a couple of questions, I am hoping you can help me with. When you mention using the CTRL button below, is this how you escalate a request? If not, how can the listing agent escalate a request? Also, the seller has not created an account with Equator and has not uploaded any financial information at this point. Does the generic negotiator need to assign a task for the seller to upload their financial package? Everything I have read on this site indicates that the seller needs to upload their financials and that the listing agent can't do it for them. Is this correct? Does the seller need to upload their financials if the lien is a 2nd mortgage? If the seller does need to upload their financials, how do they go about setting up their equator account and have it refferenced to the same account as the listing agent? One final question is that at the beginning of the process with Equator, the listing agent was assigned an actual negotiator, but now she has a generic negotiator. Does this mean anything? I apologize for all of the questions, but if you have answers to any of these, I would be much appreciative. Thanks!
Emily S. Knell said:Bank of America is VERY SLOW. It can take up to 1 month after accepting one of their counter offers to actually get an approval letter. They are just so overwhelmed with files. I know you're thinking, What the Heck? They have everything, why can't they just issue the darn approval letter! I'm in the same boat with my files.
The listing agent should send a message through the Equator system once she's pulled up your file & hit the CTRL button to send the message to the Negotiator, AVP, SVP, VP, Team Leader, Manager etc. Your listing agent will get an email that bounces back from one of these people stating that "they're out of the office, or won't be back til Monday, etc" , then she'll have their email address. Email them, be nice and see if they can tell you what's going on.
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