Is our bank required to give us a copy of the BPO or appraisal they had done on our property? Disputing value of home

We are in the beginning stages of disputing the value of the home we are attempting to do a short sale with.  I do not understand the process, or how to start, my agent doesn't seem to either, and the bank will not provide a copy of their valuation.  I do not know whether it was a BPO or appraisal, or just a number they pulled out of the sky.  It's Navy Federal Credit Union

Views: 860

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

So how is it that we are supposed to go about disputing the value if we have no idea what they say the value is?  To my knowledge, my agent is as confused about this dispute process as I am, and I have no idea how to go about it.  He has sent the short sale department at the bank a list of comps and simply stated that we are disputing their valuation.  Now what?  

Thanks for the reply.  I will take the above suggestions into consideration.  We actually did do research on agents prior to choosing him, and he assured us that he has had much experience with performing short sale contracts.  It is actually the reason we choose him, and are now feeling mislead.  

Oh my!  that is a scary PDF :)

Ron, I'm also wondering how Freddie can consider my husband's retirement account as an asset.  In other threads, you've mentioned that they must have some reason to consider us able to pay $25k; the only place we have that cash (because they want cash) is in his TSP account.  Is that free game?

Ron, that does help, thank you.  He is not receiving any distributions at all, he is active duty and this is the Thrift Savings Plan that we add to for retirement.  It is likened to a 401k.  If he is not receiving payments, then they cannot count that as income/assets.  My question then, would be, is Freddie within their rights to just say no, we can't do a short sale at all?  We have offered a contribution of $10k to counter their request for $25k, and they have denied that.  

Can they simply say no?  If there is a contribution, do we have to pay what they request, even if it requires us taking out the max amount of a loan from his TSP?  

Can you just be my agent?  :)  I'd love to give you our package to look at and tell me what's what.  I don't understand half of this stuff.  We have a different home that we live in now, but bought it within the past two years and have almost no equity, especially since we just refinanced.  We have enough to give $10k from our savings, but not $25k.  I'm not sure what the front end debt means, so can't say whether we have a shortfall in that area.

Ron,

Yes, our primary residence was purchased when we had had tenants established, had a three year lease signed by them, and had plenty of time left on their lease, so the income from rent was secure.

Right now we're waiting for anyone from Freddie to tell us if succeeding at our dispute of the value of the home will actually lower the contribution request from them.  That is what I was told by one of their rep's- that if their valuation of the home were lower, we'd have to pay less.  I want to make sure that's the case, and will then proceed with the dispute.  If it doesn't change what they are asking for, then we proceed as is. 

Ron, tried to reply to your below comment, but there was no option to reply.  Our primary residence is distant from the house that had to move away from and had to put tenants in- we received orders from the Marine Corps to do so.  We had already been in that house for three years, so had some equity.  The way you describe it sounds a little shady, we were relocated and bought another home to live in. 

Thanks for the info on the valuation- that's what I'm assuming too.  I hate to give in, but at this point feel no other option.  Foreclosure is NOT an option, so taking from retirement is the only way it feels like this will end.

 

Thank you for your kind words.  Dealing with tenants and this house have made the past three years pretty miserable.  I hate having to give that much money away, but peace of mind is priceless.  I never want to have tenants again, and never want to buy another home, either.  Looking forward to retirement and buying land and building.  It is unbelievable the way people have behaved during this process, and it's not over yet, so I'm sure I'll continue to be flabbergasted at the way we are treated.  I understand that there are many people that have simply walked away from commitments without any regard for obligations.  We have hung on for years, and lost $50,000 in the process, and are getting ready to throw another $25,000 at it to finally have peace.  It's a shame that the housing crisis is ruining lives the way it is.  We are fortunate to have career security and many years to hopefully make that money back.

What Assets are Considered Cash Reserves?
Cash reserves include any non-retirement liquid asset the borrower has available from any financial institution or 
brokerage, including, but not limited to, the following:
 Funds on deposit in the borrower’s checking, savings, money market, or certificate of deposit account or other 
depository account
 Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, U.S. Government Securities and other securities that are traded on an exchange or 
marketplace generally available to the public (e.g., New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities 
Dealers Automated Quotations, Midwest SE, Chicago Board of Trade or Over the Counter) for which the price can be 
verified through financial publications
Assets must be considered cash reserves unless they are held in a qualified retirement account such as 401(k), 403(b), 
457, Individual Retirement Account (IRA), or pension fund.
You must ensure that cash reserves for all borrowers on the mortgage are accounted for on Form 710, Uniform Borrower 
Assistance Form. Refer to Guide Section B65.37(c) for additional information.
When is a Borrower Not Required to Make a Contribution?
Borrowers are not required to make a contribution in the following instances:
 Borrowers who are service members with Permanent Change of Station orders, provided that the borrower occupies 
the property as his or her primary residence and purchased the property on or before June 30, 2012
 Borrowers who are 90 days or more delinquent with a FICO® score less than 620. Refer to Guide Section B65.37(a) 
for requirements for determining the borrower’s FICO score.
 The borrower’s cash reserves do not exceed the greater of $10,000 or six times the monthly mortgage payment.
 Applicable law prohibits requesting or receiving a contribution.

http://www.freddiemac.com/learn/pdfs/service/fm_ss_borr_contr.pdf

I didn't think that the bank had in writing that it was required to give you the BPO. They must give you the appraisal if it is FHA. However, on one of these forums, someone pointed out that they must give the homeowner these things. I did not follow it in detail. As with many things, the bank will deny that you have the right to these. Management always tells them so (just like they tell you that they cannot tell you who the investor is - in direct contradiction of the federal truth in lending act). They will say that they paid for it so it is theirs. I think, in reality, there is a law that any evaluation by the bank must be made available to the homeowner.

Since Fannie Mae has admitted to boosting the price 20% over their BPO, I don't know that it makes a real difference knowing what their BPO is. It is funny money not based upon reality (or realty??). Also, Freddie, and I think Fannie, will, at least sometimes, use FMV or AVM or whatever they call some "fair market value" database. I found that our MLS has access to this database. I compared several FHA appraisals (which are so superior to the wacko BPO's we often see - worth reading through if you doubt it - very thorough - by someone with a license to do just appraisals), and I found huge differences - FHA appraisal $260K (which, for this property, still has not attracted a buyer at $240K for over a year), and the FMV from the database was $485K.

My point is that they have to know that they numbers are often insane but they don't care. You need to fight for honesty and prove that your numbers are right, yet seeing that FNMA admits to bogus numbers, you may also need to call on state senators and state AG's or TV news reports to shame the entity into being honest - as you can see in several on-the-web news casts from the West. In other words, don't necessarily waste time on trying to get their number and see what is wrong with it - get your own solid numbers and force them to deal with that.

Another question;can we still dispute their valuation if the home if we agree now to pay what they want? I want to keep the ball rolling, and allow the buyers to do their inspection and move forward, but if there is a way to also dispute the value, and possibly lower our contribution, I'd like to continue with that as well.

RSS

Members

© 2024   Created by Brett Goldsmith.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

********************************** like buttons ************************