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This post might step on some toes but it is not meant to. Most REALTORS are on tight budgets now and need candid answers to questions about short
sales, short sale classes and which class or course is better.
I am not professing to be an expert on which class or course of
instruction is better but I will give my unbiased opinion as to which
is better in my opinion.
I currently hold the CDPE designation, I have completed the Short Sale Superstar Course and I recently finished the NAR Designation SFR course.
The CDPE and SFR course are very similar in structure as they teach the
history of lending and selling that put us into the situation we are
in. Both courses spend considerable time talking about aspects that
have nothing to do with actually performing short sales. Both courses
leave out key elements that you as a Real Estate Professional had
better know before you advise a client on a short sale. (especially
when it comes to tax consequences of selling short and Canceled
Debts).
The SFR course dedicates only about 2-2.5 hours on actually doing short sales. Part of the SFR course is doing 3, one hour webinars (you pick from a
list) that is strictly on the honor system.
The SFR course Itook pretty much had a "no question" policy. I feel this was because
of time constraints but I don't think it is reasonable or responsible
on the part of NAR to take such an important topic and condense it to
7.5-8 hours and then not allow a significant question and answer
period. This class should be a two day class at the minimum. That
being said, every class has a couple of village idiots that need to be
kicked out and I don't know how to handle them.
The Short SaleSuperstars course is definitely the least formal of the courses but I
feel it offers the most education by far. This class is taught over
the web through webinars created by Wendy Rulnick and Bryant Tutas.
Wendy and Bryant are ACTIVE REAL ESTATE AGENTS in what many consider
the epicenter of short sales and foreclosures, Florida. When you take
the Short Sale Superstar course you are learning from two agents who
ACTUALLY sell short sales. I think this is a key difference between
the courses, these guys sell short sales and don't just teach. I have
talked to Bryant several times on the phone when I had an issue and he
and Wendy are always quick to email a response to a question, something
that does not happen with the other two programs. The Short Sale
Superstar program is the only program that went over how to do a FHA
short sale.
None of the programs went over any type ofmarketing plan to get the phone ringing for short sales so the jury is
still out on that. Word of mouth, AR blogging and ads seem to be the
best way. My leads have come from my AR blog which I now have a 2nd AR
blog dedicated to Short Sales and Foreclosures.
Mysuggestion? Short Sale Superstars hands down. If you want a
designation get the SFR, it is the cheapest to get and some of the
information is really useful.....that being said, you had best do the
Short Sale Superstars IN ADDITION to CDPE or SFR.
My only suggestion to Short Sale Superstars? Create some type of designation for those that want one. CDPE did it so it should not be too hard.
CDPE is not recognized by NAR and quite frankly the CDPE is a step
above SFR yet much more expensive than either Short Sale Superstars or
SFR.
Reducing Principal will help Reduce Foreclosures
People who face losing their home in foreclosure often ask, "If the bank is going to lose all this money by selling my home at fair marketvalue, why can't they re-work my loan at that same price? I could makethe payment if they would simply reduce my loan balance to fair marketvalue." In effect, that is exactly what Bank of America is proposingto do.
Not all of the details are out, but the press release came out today stating that people who owe more than 120% of the fair market value oftheir home could qualify to have the principal reduced to 100% of fairmarket value over a 5 year period. Let's say you have a home that isworth $100,000, but you owe Bank of America $125,000. If you qualifyfor the program your loan balance would be instantly knocked down to$100,000. The $25,000 debt would still exist, but you won't pay anyinterest on that debt, and it will be forgiven in stages over a 5 yearperiod. At the end of five years all you will have is the $100,000loan. But if you miss a payment or go into foreclosure the unforgivenportion of the $25,000 will probably be there waiting for you.
You can read the entire press release here: ShorsalevsforeclosureNC - Link to Article.
I've got news for ya. You already did. When you purchased the property. You signed two documents. The mortgage. That created the lien and gave the lender the right to foreclose on your property (their collateral). And, you signed a promissory note. That was/is your personal promise to pay back the money you borrowed.
The Short Sale releases the lien (mortgage). It may or may not release you from the note. If the Lender is offering to swap out your $200,000 note, that you already signed, for a $10,000 at ZERO interest over 10 years then......why not sign and be done with it?
Think about it before you answer. Consult with an attorney. Then make the decision that works for you. Just don't say "I ain't signing no frickin' note!!!" without thinking it through. Make sense?
Short Story: BOA approved my short sale after a lengthy process - CUT my & other agent's commission too. Buyer walked because he didn't like home inspection. Found ANOTHER buyer in two weeks for $10,000 less. Resubmitted to same negotiator last Friday with all kinds of estimates for repairs (per advice from Bryant Tutas - THANKS!!) GOT AN ACCEPTANCE OF DEAL LAST NIGHT!! Close in 2 weeks, MY OWN BUYER AND THEY PUT MY COMMISSION BACK UP WHERE IT BELONGS!! WOW! I almost feel like I'm dreaming!
Hi Folks. Recently I have had two Buyers balk at providing mepersonal info I need if they want to purchase a Bank of America ShortSale. I really do understand where they coming from but....most of thebig lenders including Bank of America and GMAC are now running most oftheir short sales through http://www.Equator.com.
Supposedly the Equator system will help to shorten the time involved withgetting these Short Sales approved. From what I'm hearing Bank ofAmerica is giving approvals in 60-90 days as opposed to the 6-9 monthsthey were taking. That's a good thing.
TheEquator system is asking for some personal Buyer info. Iassume this is to make sure transactions are "arms length". If theBuyers want to purchase a Bank of America Short Sale then we have toenter the data.
The reality is it's less data than what the closing agent willwant and far less than they would have to provide if gettingfinancing. What Equator is requiring is simply:
- Date of birth
- The first 5 digits of their social security number.
- The Buyer's address.
That's all we need. No big deal. Of course the Buyers always have the option ofjust not buying a Bank of America Short Sale. I just hate to see themmiss out on a good deal over something so minor. What say you?
Here's the screen shot from Equator.
Can you believe that BOA removed the language that says "BAC... and its investors may pursue a deficiency judgement...????"
It took some yelling! But finally, it got done!
Is it just in my little world, or are the banks FINALLY moving on some of these loans?
I recently had 12 approvals come through in a 10 day period. 4 of these were loans that have been "in the system" for over a year or close to it.
The lenders were Bank of America, Chase and Citi - 3 of my favorites! HA!
I hope this is a sign of improvements being implemented in the short sale process!
Keep up the hard work everyone!
If you are considering selling your home Short make sure your listing agent uses a licensed Negotiator or better yet they do it themselves. Stay away from unlicensed or unscrupulous short sale third party negotiators. Someone who charges a fee to act on a homeowner’s behalf in negotiating a loan must generally be licensed with the California Department of Real Estate (DRE). An unlicensed person who practices real estate is committing a crime. Also, if you pay that unlicensed person for conducting licensed activity, you too may be committing a crime.
Take care when looking for a qualified Short Sale listing agent. Now the pitch Janet O’Brian is that listing agent she has been doing short sale for years with a 97% approval rating. She does all of the Negotiation herself, so she has the current status of your sale readily available. She has official Certification from the National Association of Realtors® “SFR”. Also Janet holds two other Short Sale Certification, Certified Short Sale Professional (C. S. P.) & Pre-Foreclosures Specialist Certification (P. S. C.).
Richard & Janet - Certified Short Sale Professional
661-733-0507 OR 733-0508
Keller Williams Realty AV Serving Palmdale, Lancaster in California
www.HomesByJR.com
www.ShortSaleByJR.com
I ran into a previous client today. I had tried to conduct a Short Sale for her back in 2007 to 2008. I had priced the home at $199,000and received 8 offers. After the bank conducted it's appraisal andagainst my strong objections, they determined they would take nothingless than $259,000. I tried to get the negotiator to come to her sensesand warned her and later her supervisor that they would be taking thishome back if they didn't accept the sale now. All 8 of my offers walkedand the house didn't sell. It went back to the bank in December of'08.
Of course, after speaking with her, the first thing I did when I got back to the computer was search the MLS for the old property. I wascurious what the home sold for and when. I wasn't surprised to findthat it was still on the market after going thru 3 REO agents. Today,it is listed at $187,000. Values have come up slightly so it's onlyabout $10,000 over priced today. But it still hasn't sold.
It's been a year and 3 months since the bank could have sold this home for $199,000. During this time they've been paying the outrageous$300 HOA fee per month. According to the current MLS, they recarpeted,installed new appliances and painted the entire interior of the house.They've kept the house clean and the yard done. All of which cost thebank money.
I would love to be able to call the negotiator and her supervisor back to say "I told you so", however I know it's to no avail. But it'sfrustrating to know that I could have accomplished something and was notallowed.
The banks seem to be doing better. But...will they ever really "get it"?
By the way, if you or someone you know is at risk of losing a home to foreclosure, please know that there are new options available to avoidthis devastating occurrence. And know that there is someone here you cantrust to help. As a Certified Pre-Foreclosure Specialist, I understandthe ins and outs of Short Sales and Loan Modifications. I am also aWachovia and World Bank trained Pre-Foreclosure expert and well educatedin the Government’s new H.A.F.A. and H.A.M.P. programs for helpinghomeowners facing foreclosure.
CLICK HERE TO AVOID FORECLOSURE
Are you a buyer looking for a home?
Green Business Certification
First I would like to thank ALL of you for your comments. It worked! Let me try to sum it up for you.
- Put the house on the market October 2009.
- Got an offer 1 day later, VA buyer fully approved
- Submitted ALL paperwork to BOA
- Waited all of October, November and December
- Get a notification that we must use REO Trans/Equator - WTF???
- We upload everything in Equatore
- We get a denial end of December because they cant get the log in right.
- Start the process all over again. Now we are moving forward.
- Wait, and wait, nothing in December, January or early February
- Buyers are going to walk, but willing to wait until end of Feb
- Contact BOA and nothing
- Foreclosure letters have been coming since January
- Contact Foreclosure attorney and they get us a negotiator - Can you believe that?
- Negotiator is communicating so we are moving forward
- Now it's March and we are in REO Trans/Equator and it says Negotiation.
- We email, we call, we write. We call attorney. They cant help.
- Foreclosure date set for March 24. Buyers extend til March 15 because they see we have a negotiator
- March 10 comes and goes. Nothing in REO/Trans.
- I take a SFR class on March 11 to get certified in Short Sales and learn absolutely NOTHING but BOA is hard to work with and God bless anyone who can get one closed in time
- I meet you guys on March 12th.
- I first filed a complaint with the OCC, BBB and sent a letter to my congressmen and to President Obama. I copied all the folks I spoke to in the past at BOA, the foreclosure attorney and I emailed and left messages for Dave Sunlin, SVP, Mr. Massey, Chairman of the Board and Joe Price, Chief Financial Officer, Gabrielle Harrison, VP of REO Sales. I did all this on a Saturday and Sunday so that Monday morning, they would have my emails waiting for them first thing.
- Monday afternoon, March 15 (they are in a different time zone) my phone was ringing off the hook. I got phone calls from 2 BOA reps and a call from Fannie Mae. WOW!!!!
- I also called the MI company Old Republic who told me they couldnt talk to me so I had a BOA rep on the line working with them to get the whole thing negotiated. It was like a symphony.
- On the eve of March 15, 2010, I had the loan negotiated and the MI company responded to the deal (BOA said the MI company was the hold up.) They said they would call me back by March 16 to get things approved.
- On March 16th, not a single soul called me. I am angry now because I was just stood up. Not acceptable.
- So, at 4 pm. I called Dave Sunlins office and what do you know. His assistant answers. I told her hat this will not work and that they need to realize that this could happen to them, etc. etc. etc.
- At 6 pm my time, I got a phone call from the senior team manager leader whomever
- At 7 pm she APPROVED the loan. Can you believe??
The Squeaky wheel really does get the grease. Squeak and you shall GET!
Below is the letter I sent to BOA:.(use it, change it, whatever) They need to hear from YOU!
Good luck and if you would like to email me for more info, I will give you whatever you need latouche@hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Sunlin, SVP of BOA Loss Mitigation Dept at BOA,
(Note: I have copied Mr. Massey, Chairman of the Board and Joe Price, Chief Financial Officer)
How are you? I trust all is well.
I know you don't know me, but it is time I contacted you regarding my Bank of America Short Sale. I have been so upset that no one at BOA will assist me to get this short sale closed, that I have made a formal complaint in writing to the OCC, the BBB and FDIC. I will be happy to copy you on the letter I am also writing to our government about the unfair and unethical treatment of American citizens by BOA. I plan to send a press release to CNN to expose this unfair practice against your customers.
The property address:
-------------------
-------------------
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323
Respectfully, I am trusting you will try to get to the bottom of this situation. In summation: I have a home that was sold in October to a ready willing and able buyer and BOA wont do anything to help me get this home closed. The buyers are going to walk away on March 15 and my home is in foreclosure proceedings. This is unconsionable. Please assist ASAP. I have outlined the situation below if you are interested in seeing how much pain and suffering I have endured.
I have been rather patient through the process, but time is of the essence. I have a short sale that has been in the "works" since October 2009. For some, October 2009 is not a long time, but JUST imagine you bought a house in October and you cannot move in until "NEVER." Also imagine me, the seller, about to get foreclosed on when I have a ready, willing, and able buyer. This is absolutely ridiculous and unconscionable.
Let me share the timeline with you:
October 2009 - listed our home
October 2009 - got a qualified buyer and a ratified contract
October 2009 - sent a complete package to BOA
October 2009 - BOA acknowledges receipt of packet
November 2009 - NOTHING but waited
December 2009 - NOTHING but waited
December 2009 - We are told to use REO/Trans aka START Process ALL OVER AGAIN
January 2010 - NOTHING but wait
Buyer is about to walk now. They are impatient
February 2010 - Foreclosure notices are coming left and right.
February 2010 - Buyers extend because we now have a NEGOTIATOR named Erica from BOA
February 2010 - STILL WAITING
February 2010 - Supposedly waiting for response from MI company
March 2010 - Buyers are threatening to walk away no matter what if the home does not close by March 15th (THIS YEAR)
March - 2010 - Foreclosure date set for March 24, 2010
Still Waiting, nothing done, still in REO/Trans in the negotiation phase.
Can anyone explain why BOA would rather foreclose than get this home SOLD!!!!???
I have been in contact with Erica Myers-Bill with BOA and her email is erica.myers@bankofamerica.com. While she is very nice, I understand that she is just the person who answers the phone and email. Other than that, I know she has no power to get anything done.
I expect immediate action as my buyers would like to close on March 15, 2010 or they will walk. The market is not that great, therefore, we dont know when, if ever, we will get another offer from a qualified buyer.
I hate to involve the entire BOA family, but it seems like I have no other option. Until I get satisfactory action, I will contact whomever I can. All I want is to get this home closed and make the buyers happy. They have been patient too and they deserve the home they are contracted to buy.
I know you are not personally responsible for the negligence of your company, but I am respectfully begging for your help. I have suffered enough stress, sleepless nights and hair loss over this ordeal. I would pray that you can find it in your heart to help get this situation expedited and resolved IMMEDIATELY! I wish I could articulate in words how this has affected me, but I am sure that is the last of your concern. In summation: PURE HELL!
If it's the last thing do, I will find your home address and camp outside your home and/or office until you approve this loan.
God Bless and good night!
after BPO agent goes to property,how long do I need to wait for shortsale approval
Hello all. I was wondering what success you were having with the bank/lender approving the negotiation fees for a third party company? How many of you have started another company/corporation to handle your short sale negotiations? Your feedback is appreciated.
Thanks!
Ryan Smith
714-612-3963j
ryan@yourrealtorryan.com
Started one on Equator first part of December. Seemed plausible. Then went to HELD status.
Called in several times in regards to HELD status.....Customer service reps kept saying all looks good, yes we have everything, negotiator is working on it....
NOD had been filed unknown to me when I took the listing. Nothing showed up in Foreclosure Radar. Title company did not see anything. (Seller forgot to tell me the letter came in after I put on MLS) OOPS!
In either case, multiple phone calls to negotiator as well as emails and to his manager and no response. Every time I called Equator everything was peachy keen.
Then a week ago monday I found out about the Trustee sale, called the title company again, who for some reason did not see it right away but eventually found it and emailed foreclosure radar as to status since they did not show anything---they finally found it, and updated their system....told me there was nothing else I could have done has they had to have their plant do a thorough research before they even found it........sigh.......Title company had to research it several times........I do know there is a backlog due to layoffs and hours cut back at the county .....perhaps part of the mayhem.......
So since the negotiator was over 6 weeks late in completing task with two escalations I emailed the office of the president. They responded promptly assigned a new negotiator this week BUT the investor will not call her back but she did look at notes and the investor will not accept anything below a certain amount.........fine except the comps do not justify that amount. Negotiator tells me on thursday the 12th ,wants buyer to raise offer to price investor indicated in notes (I think these notes are from the prior offer!) Which tells me that the first negotiator DID NOT properly send in my new information.
The 2nd negotiator kept asking me you are not the original agent ? NO, I am not.
Buyer says no to increase in purchase offer, cancels.(WILL stay in if the offer is accepted at price originally provided)
Backup offers will not go that high.......comps do not justify.
Oh , did I mention the trustee sale is this coming tuesday the 16th?
Background of this condo, seller had listed with another agent approx year ago who had offer rejected by BofA.
Again, appraisals were not based upon the current market value of several of the units sold in this particular complex but compared to luxury condos elsewhere.
Seller, starts communication with bank and tries to work something out and calls me in November to relist as short sale again.
BofA was given all of this info upfront and that I was a different agent and agency.
Instead of just letting us know up front and/or giving us the amount they would accept they allowed 3 months to go by and wasted everyones time and efforts. (The homeowner by the way, has kept up their HOA fees )
So to BofA I say this-You wonder why agents think poorly of you? Go back and read above.....simple communication at the onset could have avoided the lengthy wait.......Playing games and instructing your customer reps to mispresent the facts is inexcusable.
The majority of realtors and agents try to operate in fair play and expect the same back.
I do not think Equator is a bad thing...I even took the ReoTrans Gold Certification...it does have some bugs and if you get lost up front in the system it is hard to rebound. In fact, the recent conversations I have had with the powers to be suggested the same thing. I know of several agents who have closed transactions. That is a good thing.
When you call in and ask specific questions and are led to believe that all is peaches and creme I really take exception to such......It has nothing to do with the thousands of short sales you state you have......Regular short sale dept would not talk to you as it was loaded in equator.
It has everything to do with proper training, communication and honesty and letting the investor know up front an offer that came in and not wait til the very end to let the investor know about an offer ... particularly after NOD was filed.
Plain and simple......let the listing agent know the facts up front and not dump on them at the very end.
Please know I have closed several BofA transactions....the longest took up to 9 months.
Now someone tell me about all of the negotiators that are buddy buddies with various investor groups who hs a special relationship with various investor groups to come in waaayyyy below market value and close the short sale? I understand some of these negotiators make bonuses working these various investors......
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