I apologize for the length, but below is our story....any comments suggestions are extremely appreciated! Thanks to all for your valuable information throughout the site!!!
My Fiancé and I currently are currently under contract on a property being handled/owned by Bank of America. When we submitted our offer, it had already been approved for short sale, but the original buyer backed out. We were told we could step in as new buyer, and the new Approval Letter will take about 48 hours to process. The case is being handled by an attorney.
Our offer was submitted to the seller on 29-Jan-10,and was accepted and sent to BOA on 1-Feb. After weeks passing by without receiving any communication from BOA, we finally were able to initiate contact with the short sales support department we were informed that it was being processed and check back next Friday. This went on for weeks, until we eventually got a different
answer saying, "it was being reviewed by the investor".
Finally, on 22-Mar we got through to a supervisor in the short sale department. We discussed Equator's new role in the BOA process. The negotiator informed the supervisor that because this file is already in progress it will not be required to be transitioned to Equator, and the
investor has the file, and all we can do is wait.
When submitting the offer, we made sure that the net to Bank of America would not change, and all terms on the HUD-1 were identical (in order to simplify the process). We had originally requested a closing date of 12-Mar, as we wanted to leave time for delays, and still close before 30-Mar.
My first concern was ensuring we would be locked into a mortgage rate, before the anticipated Fed withdrawal of the Mortgage Backed Market on 30-Mar, and the affect to interest rates if the Fed were no longer supporting the MBS market. The second major concern was to ensure we would be eligible for the $8,000 tax credit.
On the 26-Mar, we contacted a supervisor again for an update, and below is an overview of what we were told.
"She (Supervisor) has confirmed that the file is definitely not in the Equator system and that they have been given a directive to process these pending files ASAP. She said that if we don't hear from them by Wednesday or Thursday to please call them back. The supervisor feels that we should be getting that approval very soon in light of all of the changes slated for 4/1/10"
This was extremely exciting news, but once again, in the end it appears it was just another seemingly random answer to get us off of the phone. Now on Monday, 5-Apr, we have been told that
ALL short sales are being transferred to the new Equator system, and that we had to start all over again?!?!?
As a result of BOA not acting within a quite reasonable time frame, we now are faced with a costlier mortgage. Mortgage rates have risen roughly a half of a percentage point if not more, which will result in thousands out of our pocket over the life of the loan. I can completely respect the fact that yes, markets move hindsight is 20-20, and however, this was something I had been aware of and closely following for months. I was taking that into strong consideration in our home purchasing process.
Now we are also in jeopardy in losing out on the $8,000 tax credit. We are aware it is not a "right", for all to obtain it, but we were legitimately in the market for a startup home and have been searching the last year or more. To not get the tax credit is something we feel we can’t afford, and therefore have tried for months to ensure we will indeed receive it. Now it is completely in the hands of people who seem to just not care.
Our wedding plans were being put secondary, to buying a home, as we want to budget properly for home ownership. Then we can use the tax credit for a small wedding. We have not been able to book our reception for the end of the year, and now, we have been told that we can no longer book in November when we had hoped, as it's too late and they're all booked.
We are trying to do things responsibly, in our journey this year of trying to get married, and buy a home, but it is all quickly being thrown out the window and I strongly feel BOA is the major contributor to this.
I am aware we could have chosen to find another property but we A) very much like this house, and B) perhaps we would have looked elsewhere had we not been told for the last 3 months that it is being handled and it will get done. Now all of the energy, time, effort, and not to mention costs, that we have incurred, seem to be all for nothing but anguish, frustration, and disappointment.
I am sympathetic to the banks situation, and know how busy the past year has been. It is troubling to me however that it seems that waiting and following instructions from BOA results in our case sitting in a pile to the side. In the end, all we have accomplished is nothing as we now are told to begin again, but with time very much against us. We have been patient and gotten nowhere; while anyone who is kicking and screaming are dealt with seem to at least have some positive results. If there is nothing that can be done or will be done, in order for us to be able to expedite this before the tax deadline passes us by, I simply just need to be told that, so we can put our "dreams" aside for now.
Thanks again and sorry for the rant!
Steve
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Replies
I'm thinking it'll be down to the wire for the closing 30-Jun...
Does anyone have any fairly confident estimates of how long after full appraisal is done? What comes next? I don't know if the fact its been approved before has any bearing on the process either....
Thanks for all comments!
Now about the whole switching out buyers thing, the agent LIED to you. BOA does not do that. They CANNOT just slap a new name on an approval. Even if everything is the same, the whole process has to be run again. Beginning to end, unless you have one of the rare awesome negotiators who are willing to do the footwork themselves and recreate the file for you. But the negotiators are a bunch of lazy jerks that never contact anyone, so good luck with that.
Last thing; don’t get mad at the people at short sale support. They cannot give you negotiator manager info, they cannot give you the amount of the BPO, they cannot give you an approval letter, and they cannot speed up the process. Short sale support is strictly informational. They literally are allowed to read off the file to you. They have no power whatsoever and any "escalation" they do is literally a piece of paper that gets put into a giant pile. They sit and take the heat for the negotiators and the process all day even though they never actually affect anything in the system. Oh and just a tip, if you call and ask where the person is located, and they say "Tulsa"..... Just hang up. I don’t know where those crazies get their info, but it is pretty much NEVER correct. Aim for Spokane if you can handle waiting. They actually KNOW what they are doing... As much as they can consider BOA changes their policies every other day.
The positive way to think about all this mess is this: You have the ability to buy a home now, you're not one of the masses of people who bought in 2007 and are still clinging on through pointless loan modifications just to wait 10yrs to break even because they're $300K underwater.
You're buying at the bottom and will watch your equity grow over the next 10yrs. Rates have gone up a little, but people are still getting the low end of the stick on rates, in general. When I first started out in Real Estate buyers were jumping for JOY to be approved and locked in at 7.75%
As I said, I have no idea if anyone made a call due to my letter which is paraphrased above, or if the lawyers finally understood my determination in getting this thing done, (with or without her) and decided to be much more pro-active on it, or it was nothing more than dumb lick, but it appears that so far we have got the ball rolling now, and swiftly.
Nothing is done until it's done though, and all I can say to anyone is that if you feel you're stuck, keep going higher, and higher until you find someone willing to listen, as sometimes all it takes is a simple informal phone call by someone in power to get things done and quickly.
It never hurts to try!!!
Thanks!
Steve
I was agree with you on the frustration of waiting part. I feel like I am the most aggressive of all parties involved, and it is a bit frustrating when people tell you, "there's no point in calling, it will get you nothing and theyll hang up on you....:".
To me, by accepting that we just have to sit and pray we get "lucky" is something I have trouble believing though. I realize that you have to let people do their job and not be a jerk, however I also know that these days, in order to get anything done in any facet of the financial industry, you have to be vocal and insistent. In a nice way mind you, but you need to be forceful, otherwise, there are thousands of others who are willing to speak up, and you will quickly be put by the wayside until things get quieter, and we all know that's not happening any time soon.
Thanks for your reply, and suggestions, hopefully all works out for both of us!
Good luck!
A.Suzuki said:
The lawyer obtained this info from a supervisor. I am not sure of what department. That's a very good point as far as the net to the bank amount, I had not taken the carry costs into consideration. And as far as the "2 weeks out" comment, yes I am well aware not to get my hopes up, and I would believe most likely that it was just "an opinion"....be it an optimistic one at that...
Thanks for your kind words, I will post updates as I go through, in hopes someone can use something learn something from my experience to help their own.
Steve
Bryant Tutas said:
I am sorry about your situation; I am, too, a short sale buyer. My offer was accepted by the seller on 3/6/10, and apparently, my case is in the Equator. My agent was told by the listing agent that BPO has been ordered recently, but I haven't heard anything else from anyone on the process.
It has not been that long, compared to your case, that I am waiting, but I can't help it but to check my email and voice mail often. I've done everything I can on my end, so I'm getting more anxious. I personally went to get the property's plumbing/electrical/construction/permit history records from the City, had the house inspected (general and termite), got my loan in order, got homeowner's insurance policy quoted, and sent an EMD check to the escrow company (Escrow opened as soon as my offer was accepted by the seller), etc., and all I can do now is wait. Waiting part is just frustrating.
Sometimes I feel like buyers in short sale transactions are the 'victims' - being bullied/punished for things we're not responsible for. We do all we can do to get the deals closed. We diligently saved money, made the move (hopefully) early enough to make it to the tax credit deadline, and patiently wait.
What I wish is if I were informed generally how good/bad the seller's financial situation was, and the possible road blocks during the short sale process - prior to submitting the offer. I know our agents try very hard and they mean well, but I feel, without buyers, things don't happen! Although I am currently not practicing, I hold RE license and was once trained by a major RE brokerage, so I see the agent's side, too.
I hope you get the written approval soon. Like Bryant suggests, focus on your wedding for now, so at least one important event of your life will be fulfilled. Maybe ask your guests to contribute $$ as your wedding gift so that you can use that if BoA counters your offer?
Good Luck!
One of the issues from what I read in your article is that you have been given unrealistic expectations from the beginning. BofA will rarely of ever substitute a buyer. Even though your offer was the same their NET is less due to the time factor and the added costs (servicing fees, taxes, insurance etc).
If your deal is strong and was just now uploaded to Equator you may very well meet the deadline for the tax credit but it will be close. Have whoever is dealing with BofA spend some time on the phone and try to reach upper management. This may help. I truly hope this all works out for you.
Just remember, there are more houses out there. Concentrate on your upcoming wedding. That is far more important than this.
today 9-APR - The lawyer advised me that it has now been submitted to Equator, BOA went ahead and initiated the case in the system themselves, and that they would allow the seller to just call in and confirm this is what they want to do. This was Wednesday, and apparently the bank/equator people have been trying for two days to but have been "having trouble uploading the info" into equator, so the lawyer I guess has gone ahead and submitted it all herself, and she said she thinks we are maybe "two weeks out" of getting the approval letter.
I have my doubts but I'd like to remain hopeful.
Thanks and regards
Steve