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Permalink Reply by Michelle L Houze PLLC on October 23, 2011 at 6:25am

I am in AZ too.  I wasnt familiar with it either.  I have a client who made contact with BAC PRIOR to me listing the home.  They spoke about his options and offered him the co-op program.  In fact, he told them he wanted me to be the listing agent and they had the file open in Equator for me.  All I had to do was go in and accept the representation and upload the listing docs and eventually the offer.  I uploaded the listing docs on like 9/12, they did their BPO, I got a cash offer in the meantime which they finally let me upload on 10/5 and we already have approval but are waiting for the demand letter from the borrowers 2nd (Chase)  to get sent over.  They have already agreed to Chase's buyout number so as soon as I get the actual letter from Chase, they will issue written approval.  the FASTEST short sale I have ever done with BAC or almost any other lender for that matter.  I suggest, when you have a client who LIVES in the home, have them contact BAC and request the Co-Op program rather than attempt to do HAFA...Good Luck!

 

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Permalink Reply by Jackie W. McDermott on October 23, 2011 at 6:54am

I can't thank you enough Michelle.  One of close associates is about to short sell her home.  Her first is with BofA.  Second is with Harris Bank.  She has been trying for 2 years to get a loan modification, with "lost paperwork", "send us more information", no replies, etc etc.  What you have just shared with us may well be the most valuable advice I've seen.  Thank you so much. 

 

I hate to ask, but can you find out exactly how he made contact with BofA and let me know.  Is there a "1-800" number he called?  I'm thinking there's probably a number on his monthly payment statement?  Thanks again.  Have a GREAT weekend.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle L Houze PLLC on October 23, 2011 at 7:37am

my client also tried to modify and it went nowhere.  My 3rd party negotiator is UTLS and they are amazing.  I have email AND phone numbers for my negotiator and he responds within no more than 60 minutes to all emails.  I believe that the Home Transitions # at BAC is 877-447-3994.  Your friend can call them and tell them she has been waiting to do a mod and it is going  nowhere and she wants to short sale and have her ask specifically about the co-op program.  I am telling you, I  have never had an easier or faster short sale negotiation.  They really should all be this easy.  Good Luck an please let me know how it goes

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Permalink Reply by Lila Lopez on October 23, 2011 at 2:43am

Good Morning Michael,

 

At this stage you will want to call the customer care number, 866-880-1232, and ask that the file be escalated, and explain that the appraisal has already been done, and that it runs the risk of expiring. Given the amount of calls and emails you have sent, the file definitely qualifies for escalation. I have done this on several occassions and it has helped move things further along at a quicker pace. You may even request that they reassign a new negotiator. In addition, given the length of time you appear to have been working on this, you will also want to make sure that the property has not been set for foreclosure auction. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Juliana Oprea on October 23, 2011 at 6:55am

Mike, who's the 3rd party vendor that you're dealing with? You need to speak to the negotiator's supervisor from that company. You can also call and ask to be escalated with BofA but usually in this case when it comes to HAFA they will only refer you back to the vendor.

HAFA with an offer it's a pretty fast process even if you're still dealing with the 3rd party vendors for BofA. I have one HAFA that I've submitted without having an offer and I had to work with REDC. It was one of the worst experiences that I had working short sales. The negotiators never answer and they don't really get to work in Equator. As a matter of fact, in Equator, I had another person in Eqautor showing as our negotiator so all the emails sent through the system were deliverable. 

HAFA without an offer time frame: submitted mid April, got it approved by mid August. All this time waiting for the approval the property was listed on MLS and I was marketing the property. All I had to do once I got the HAFA agreement was to adjust the listed price based on the price set by the bank.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Michael Guerndt on October 23, 2011 at 7:24am

The 3rd party is AMS. That happens when I email the negotiator I get an email seconds later saying that she works for a 3rd party company and her email is undeliverable. I have the negotiators direct phone line and their team leaders and no reponce from either.

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Permalink Reply by Juliana Oprea on October 23, 2011 at 9:32am

One trick that I learned Mike was to call the REDC early in the morning. I'm in CA so I had to be on the phone with the negotiator at 7:15AM PST as their office is in Texas. Later in the day usually they will not answer the calls. Keep calling and ask for the supervisor. Tell them that you're next step is to escalate the file with the Executive office from BofA and push the customer service to help you speak to the negotiator's supervisor. If they want to transfer you to his/her voice mail tell them that you already called and left them a message. I used to call more few times a day until somebody got sick and tired of me as they saw the notes in the system that I kept calling and they tried to get a hold of the supervisor. Unfortunately, HAFA deals with BofA are really hard to work because of the incompetent 3rd party vendors hired to do the job. When I got the file approved I had to explain the negotiator the figures from the HUD1 and explain him how the $3,000 relocation funds needs to come out from their net proceeds.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Guerndt on October 24, 2011 at 1:50am

Thanks Juliana and everyone for your advice! I'm up early to tackle this today.... Have a great day!

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Permalink Reply by Jim McCormack on October 24, 2011 at 10:32am

You have 2 ways to submit for HAFA: (1) Have with an offer and (2) HAFA without an offer (more common).  It sounds like you have the 2nd one.  In that case, you need to wait until you receive the HAFA Agreement and get the seller to sign it.  Only then can the offer be evaluated.  If you are going through AMS HAFA (BofA's contracted HAFA vendor) then good luck.  I have submitted 2 HAFA applications through them and after many months was rejected on 1 for information that they had from the beginning (i.e. the Borrower moved out of the house) and on the 2nd the HAFA Approved List Price is 40-50% above market.  I have been told that if the loan is owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that the chance of being approved into HAFA is slim.  You are probably better off having your client decline HAFA and submitting the offer via a traditional short sale, the new BofA Co-op Short Sale, or another program, if available.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Guerndt on October 24, 2011 at 1:59pm

It is AMS that is handling this and Fannie Mae is the investor... Interesting I will have to learn more about the BofA Co-op Short Sale. Thank you so Much!

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Permalink Reply by Kimberley Kelly on October 25, 2011 at 2:21am

I like the co-op idea IF you can get it approved..

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