Equator - Useful Information before getting started
Hey Gang,
I'll update this discussion as new information is acquired.
USEFUL INFORMATION TO HAVE BEFORE GETTING STARTED:
Equator (formerly Reotrans) is only the platform that the lender uses to process Short Sales(SS). The peeps at Equator can only provide techincal support and do not have anything to do with the bank's SS process, approval, denial or other. You have to call the lender to get answers to your SS related questions.
1)Buyer's Full Name and Address
2)Buyer's First 5 SSN (Some people have been entering "000-00")
3)Buyer's Birth Date (Some have been entering a default birth date)
4)Buyer's Phone Number
5)LOTS of Patience!
When you initiate a SS in the Equator system:
1) Initiate the SS and the system will task you with uploading the Authorization to Release.
2) Seller should have gotten a password from them for the short sale. They will log in to:
https://shortsale.bankofamerica.com/
Have them log in and fill out the questions they are prompted with. You will be unable to go any further or have any other tasks assigned until your sellers upload their info. AND if this is not done in a timely manner your file wil be closed.
NOTE: Bank of America sent my client a link: "www.bankofamerica.com/shortsale" but that is not the correct link.
TIP: B of A has told agents to create a gmail account for the seller, have the seller sign a disclosure allowing them access to the gmail account so "they" can communicate with Reotrans/Equator.
3) After the seller fills out their information and uploads their docs, you will be assigned another "TASK". You will need to "Submit Short Sale Offer".
ONE NOTE: Before you begin entering information about the Short Sale Offer, you will also need the 1st 5 digits of the BUYER'S SSN!!! (I've heard of some people using "000-00" to bypass this requirement - why would they need buyer's SSN anyway?) the BUYER'S Birth Date (Some agents have a default birthdate they use for this field) and the BUYER'S Phone number. The Equator form doesn't have a "Save" function so ALL of the information has to be entered in one sitting. Again, you will be given a deadline.
Items you will need to upload (* means required upload):
Property Photo (Make sure to upload a JPG of the Home or if it's vacant land then a picture of the vacant land - a plat map will not work - Thanks to Wendy for beta testing this for us all!)
* Upload Pre-Qualification Letter/Proof of Funds DOC
* Estimated HUD1 Worksheet
* Upload MLS Sheet
* MLS Number
* Upload Signed Purchase Agreement
4) You have to go back and check the status onthe Equator site regarding the listing every day until the "Generic Negotiator" (which is assigned by default) is changed to a real live person with a real name and contact info.
5) After a real live person (Negotiator) is assigned, they will order a BPO. Let your seller know that they may get a call for access to do a BPO. It may take a while for them to actually order the BPO. In our case, it took them 18 days from the time live negotiator was assigned until the seller got the call for access to the property to do a BPO. Even though I wrote to them letting the negotiator know to call/email me for access, the BPO agent called the homeowner instead. So, check in with your seller to see if a BPO was ordered.
6) If the numbers don't work for the investor (closing cost credits and other costs and fees, closing date, etc.) they will "Counter" your ratified contract. So, even though you have a signed and ratified contYou ract, they will say, "Yes" to some things and suggest a different number or date for other things.
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Dealing with ReoTrans/Equator has been interesting. Our file has been in "conversion" from the "legacy" (Countrywide) side to the new BofA side for quite some time. I called for an update the other week and was notified that they will upload ALL of the SS package to the new Equator system and for me to wait until it was done. They said it would take about 2 weeks to complete. A week later I checked to see if the file had been uploaded and was told that I was supposed to initiate the Short Sale via Equator. NICE. Lost a week there due to mis-information. I initiated the short sale on my side and was waiting for further instructions on how to upload the Purchase Contract among other things. I called them and they told me that they are not the correct department and they will transfer me to the correct department. Then, they finally got me to the correct department and they said that the seller has to log in and send in other docs, financial and paystubs, etc. They said that the file will close if the seller doesn't log in and upload docs and fill out their questionaire (apparently Equator has a questionaire for the seller). Nobody in the entire process or the website told me the details of this so here I am telling you so that you can save a bit of time and grief on the phone.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mori Langshaw Sr on
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Quick question - All the the "stuff" that the seller is required to do (upload, password, etc), can we do that for them?
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Barrier eXp Realty Vegas on
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Great info and what a pain. I also recently found this info out...after they told me the seller would Not have to do it..
Crazy! My seller is hospitalized, in another state, family member w/POA and nobody has internet connection,,,oh more hoops to get every one to jump thru after saying this will streamline things. We are going to try to get around this, but not sure if it will work...
The bank has all the info they need at their fingertips from where we uploaded it, they (the ss dept at the bank) should be able to upload/transfer it to equator. It only takes minutes...I hope they will change this procedure soon! -
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Mori,
I tried and they will not let us. They say seller has to call in, get info log in and do it or after a certain amount of time it will close the file and we start all over from the beginning again w/BOFA and refax the whole package!
Mori Langshaw Sr said:Quick question - All the the "stuff" that the seller is required to do (upload, password, etc), can we do that for them? -
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Permalink Reply by Makoto Sato on
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ONE NOTE: Before you begin entering information about the Short Sale Offer, you will also need the 1st 5 digits of the BUYER'S SSN!!! the BUYER'S Birth Date and the BUYER'S Phone number. The Equator form doesn't allow a "Save" function so ALL of the information has to be entered in one sitting.
Learning as I go...
-Mako
Dawn Barrier CSP®,HRC said:Mori,
I tried and they will not let us. They say seller has to call in, get info log in and do it or after a certain amount of time it will close the file and we start all over from the beginning again w/BOFA and refax the whole package!
Mori Langshaw Sr said:Quick question - All the the "stuff" that the seller is required to do (upload, password, etc), can we do that for them? -
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Permalink Reply by Richard Canifax on
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I lost a buyer because of the "new requirements" when BofA converted to REOTrans about a month ago. We were in contract almost 3 months, went through the conversion, and got hit with the requirements of Buyer SSN, Date of Birth, AND the Buyers Interest Rate!!! I wonder in asking about the buyers interest rate if they are planning on marketing a new loan to the potential buyer? I asked BofA for some documentation I could give the buyers agent that this is a legit requirement and they refused. Anyway, the buyers did not feel comfortable in giving that info to me (I represent only the seller) to input so they walked away. It still shows as waiting for me to input (though it has been almost 1 month)... I'm hoping to write an offer myself this afternoon (repeat showing in 2 hours) on it and plug it into this 'offer input' field instead of the original offer. Think they will know?? They did have the original deal that was sent months ago via fax, but am sure the right doesn't know what the left has done through the conversion to REOTrans. Any input?
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Richard,
I'm about an inch away from LOSING MY BUYER AFTER (5 months of @ss dragging by you-know-who mind you) because of the SSN issue. Sheesh! Bank of America, are you listening?
Actually, Bank of America is aware of the issue but they don't have a fix for it yet.
Feeling like a Beta tester yet?????
Richard Canifax said:I lost a buyer because of the "new requirements" when BofA converted to REOTrans about a month ago. We were in contract almost 3 months, went through the conversion, and got hit with the requirements of Buyer SSN, Date of Birth, AND the Buyers Interest Rate!!! I wonder in asking about the buyers interest rate if they are planning on marketing a new loan to the potential buyer? I asked BofA for some documentation I could give the buyers agent that this is a legit requirement and they refused. Anyway, the buyers did not feel comfortable in giving that info to me (I represent only the seller) to input so they walked away. It still shows as waiting for me to input (though it has been almost 1 month)... I'm hoping to write an offer myself this afternoon (repeat showing in 2 hours) on it and plug it into this 'offer input' field instead of the original offer. Think they will know?? They did have the original deal that was sent months ago via fax, but am sure the right doesn't know what the left has done through the conversion to REOTrans. Any input? -
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Permalink Reply by Melanie Hollis on
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Has anyone had an approval yet with the new system?
I am finding a way around the buyers info issue. I had a buyer who of course had an issue with this so I used 000-00 for ss and use a standard date of birth for buyers who are not our clients.
The bank does not need this info in order to negotiate or approve a short sale.
What are they thinking??
so far so good - the process has been moving along quite well.
Also some files the sellers have called in and started the negotiation over the phone by just providing our email address- others I have done everything and the process is the exact same status.
Interesting as you all say, we are all learning as we go
In other news- I just negotiated a deal with Select Portfolio Servicing and we went from contract to approval in 25 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They have their act together over there! thumbs up to that company! -
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Permalink Reply by Pattilynn Guilford on
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B of A told me to create a gmail account for the seller, have the seller sign a disclosure allowing me access to the gmail account so "they" can communicate with Reo.
Listen, my buyer does not want his info in this system. What if its not approved or it takes too long and the buyer found another property - then his info is out there in the terrestrial. Besides, it just adds to the workload and is totally ridiculous. If they want to verify that the contract is valid, then take a look at the proof of funds, if cash deal or prequal lender letter.
So on the Authorization Fax Cover I am refusing to use Reotrans. My sellers do not want to be contacted by a creditor and by law, they can refuse.
I think the system is not going to work for the simple reason that it was created for REO agents, not short sale negotiators/agents. Haven't been a fan of it from the get go and I'm going to resist it until I no longer can. When I call to check on my files, I simply say that we have chosen not to use the Reotrans system. The only thing its designed to do is eliminate the Phase One negotiator, per B of A to me. And its still not up and running correctly so make sure you call every 3 days after uploading and reiterate that you are not using it.
I also do not like the fact that they assign pre-foreclosures, meaning if a borrower is late the bank can assign to a registered REO/trans agent. This makes all of your hard work of farming and marketing useless.
We should all refuse to use it, pass the word and make the banks cowboy up and get their act together. I've had 4 B of A approvals in the last 8 weeks without Reotrans and I'm not going to use it. -
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Richard - doubtful that they would notice. Try it and let us know. When you lose a buyer, make the listing active immediately at the previous contract price and email blast to everyone who has shown the property. You will have a new contract within days. Ride out the old one as long as you can, and then let them know the buyer walked but you have a replacement contract.
Never let a file get closed. Then you are back in the bottom drawer behind a million or so files and it takes time to work your way back up to top drawer and then on the desk.
PS - Banks love cash contracts. Clean ones too, try not to have too much seller pays for this and that stuff. Buyers are getting good deals these days and just have to flow with it if they want it approved faster. -
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Permalink Reply by Kathy Fuhriman on
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I just tried to open your link above (www. shortsale.bankofamerica.com) and the website is not found**I did take out the space between www and short**. If this is a valid requirement for BofA shorts, I would like to test out the site before I alert my sellers that they are required to enter some info there.
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Try:
https://shortsale.bankofamerica.com/
I'll update the above link.
Kathy Fuhriman said:I just tried to open your link above (www. shortsale.bankofamerica.com) and the website is not found**I did take out the space between www and short**. If this is a valid requirement for BofA shorts, I would like to test out the site before I alert my sellers that they are required to enter some info there. -
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Permalink Reply by Wendy Rulnick on
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Makoto - Guess I am being forced here, too! I have now been on hold for 24 minutes waiting for a BOFA Reotrans rep to pick uP!
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