Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SueEllen Morse on July 19, 2010 at 1:00pm

Until you are sure there will be a closing I wouldn't worry. This deal will go through so many changes and it will take months.

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on July 19, 2010 at 2:23pm

Nope. You are asking for something that does not exist.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 19, 2010 at 7:37pm

Most of mine are fannie mae - they have rules for some things. I have seen other things get through as different entities. Other banks, other things.
city taxes, not water and sewer or maybe, some bonehead negotiators will even take out transfer tax - geesh. Some states require the seller to pay for things - I inform the negotiator when he doesn't have a choice like that. They always cut documentation fee, notary fees, title search stuff, roll the dice on HOA fees, atty's or settlement fees, not both and sometimes neither.

I've had several of them counter when I've agreed to their numbers, I even had one counter himself before I even got in to counter. So, you may find that they left something alone and whoosh, it's gone. Then it might get to the MI - hold on to your seat. They seem to love to make the seller come to the table with lots of cash. So what if the buyer has been destitute for 10 years and is living off of relatives, surely he has $15K cash to give to BofA, right?

Just stay on top of things is my best advice. Call in frequently - this is my job, so it is what I do - I'm calling daily but that usually means every other or 3rd day for any file unless something critical is going on like I have to make sure they don't screw up postponing a sheriff sale or some such.

Oh, also, it depends up what you get for a negotiator - 80/20 rule here, too. 80% have trouble finding the burger button, but you can bet they've practiced that REJECT button. If it weren't you, you'd be rolling on the floor with what some of them do. Then out of that 20%, 1/2 are mediocre to semi-OK and the others are helpful to extremely bright. What they will counter with can vary drastically accordingly.

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Lim on July 21, 2010 at 11:59pm

It's different for each deal in my experience. I've found it works better for me if I try to get all but the most essential fees (owner's title insurance, transfer taxes, attorney/title co fees, etc.) put on the buyer's side initially to avoid future problems.

The survey is always suspect. For some reason Title Searches have started showing up on their hit list recently for me (I've gotten several negotiator messages that they will not pay for both the search and insurance...no logic there). Courier fees sometimes make it through and sometimes do not. Some negotiators will approve much more than others for HOA fees and attorney fees.

As someone else said...it depends greatly on who the negotiator is and who the investor is.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on July 23, 2010 at 4:44pm

Yeah, but if you put everything on the buyer's side, what fun is that? ----- I do see patterns, negotiators will make comments where they give away some of their rules and I will take advantage of that info - next time. These don't work all the time, get reduced, cut, but knowing how wild that bunch is, I expect a ton of random strangeness - and BofA does not disappoint me in that way. On the other hand, I put numbers in places where I absolutely know they will be cut. Go ahead, put $100 in document fees - gone. Then why do I do it? Think about it. These people are pushed to get $$, are you better off coming to them with $15000 in costs and having them cut $5000 or do you seriously think you will come off better by having $10000 of expenses when you start? I want the negotiator to have "his story", feel he succeeded, as much as possible. And, there are plenty of times that some of these things don't get cut. So, is it really bad that they cut you back to $12000 of expenses instead of the $10000 that you absolutely crucially need?

Stephanie Lim said:

It's different for each deal in my experience. I've found it works better for me if I try to get all but the most essential fees (owner's title insurance, transfer taxes, attorney/title co fees, etc.) put on the buyer's side initially to avoid future problems.

The survey is always suspect. For some reason Title Searches have started showing up on their hit list recently for me (I've gotten several negotiator messages that they will not pay for both the search and insurance...no logic there). Courier fees sometimes make it through and sometimes do not. Some negotiators will approve much more than others for HOA fees and attorney fees.

As someone else said...it depends greatly on who the negotiator is and who the investor is.

Permalink Reply by Stephanie Lim on July 24, 2010 at 3:16am

I always negotiate all of the costs I can back to the buyer in the beginning to avoid the buyer having to agree to it down the road which can turn problematic. This doesn't necessarily reflect the HUD figures...just provides extra buffer between what the buyer has agreed to and what BOA is likely to pay in the end without the risk of added problems if the buyer gets disgruntled down the road about a cost being refused.

joe beauchamp said:

Yeah, but if you put everything on the buyer's side, what fun is that? >