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.

 

 


--------------------

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.

Views: 1010

Replies to This Discussion

Donita, I called that number too. I specifically asked to be transferred to an Equator trained agent and was put on hold for a while and then the line went dead. Nice.

Donita Dickinson said:
It was a BofA negotiator that had been trained on Equator. She could actually open something on her end and tell me what they needed. She made it very clear that if you are in the Equator system they will not e-mail or call us with notices. We have to proactively call in, get the right department and get them what they need by the deadline or they will close the file. Nobody else within BofA could tell me anything other than my file was under review. It was just by chance that I called in for the 3rd time today and got someone trained on Equator. You have to ask specifically for someone in that department or keep calling until you get lucky. The number I called was the 866-880-1232 number.

Makoto Sato said:
Donita,

Did you talk to Bank of America people who were trained on Equator and can actually give real answers? Or did you call Equator to have them access them file?

Donita Dickinson said:
I just got off the phone with a negotiator with the Equator system. Not everyone w/in BofA's short sale department is trained in Equator and doesn't have access to it. You have to keep asking to be transferred to someone within Equator.

Once I got that person she was able to tell me that my file was under review and the current offer was too low. She said I have 7 days to bring a higher offer. The higher offer can come from a new buyer or it can be the same buyer. If I don't bring a higher offer, they will close the file. I asked, if they could just counter with what they need and I would take that back to the buyer. Her reply, "We won't do that. You just have to submit a higher offer." Mind you there was no call or e-mail alerting me to the fact that I need to submit a higher offer and the person I spoke to earlier today did not mention it. The only way I found out was because I managed to get a person who could pull up the file in Equator.

I was also told that they will never e-mail or call me. It's my job to call and make sure I get the appropriate update. She said that there won't be a negotiator assigned to the file but that they will work on the file as a group and the process will take a maximum of 45 days.

I can't stress enough that if you have been forced to go with the Equator system, then you MUST speak to a rep who works within it.
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
Just received an approval on Equator. Submitted 2 weeks ago. I don't know if I got lucky or if this is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the new process will expidite things. I was assigned a negotiator and he has been extremely responsive but all communication has to go through Equator. It's a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. It's much better than waiting through 3 separate negotiation phases.

Michael Campus said:
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
Donita, That's great! Did you input your buyer's real FIRST 5 of their SSN in the Equator System? Just curious. -Mako

Donita Dickinson said:
Just received an approval on Equator. Submitted 2 weeks ago. I don't know if I got lucky or if this is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the new process will expidite things. I was assigned a negotiator and he has been extremely responsive but all communication has to go through Equator. It's a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. It's much better than waiting through 3 separate negotiation phases.

Michael Campus said:
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
No. I just put zero's and I for their birthdates, I used my own.

Makoto Sato said:
Donita, That's great! Did you input your buyer's real FIRST 5 of their SSN in the Equator System? Just curious. -Mako

Donita Dickinson said:
Just received an approval on Equator. Submitted 2 weeks ago. I don't know if I got lucky or if this is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the new process will expidite things. I was assigned a negotiator and he has been extremely responsive but all communication has to go through Equator. It's a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. It's much better than waiting through 3 separate negotiation phases.

Michael Campus said:
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
Our ratified contract was uploaded on Dec 24th. The Closing date is set for 3/24/2010 = 3 months. Ours had a 1st and 2nd mortgage both with Bank of America. Others have had different results.

Susanne said:
Two weeks from the date you submitted offer? I'm a buyer trying to see what we're up against. I understand the offer was submitted a week or so ago by the LA. Any insight on recent timing using Equator system?

Donita Dickinson said:
Just received an approval on Equator. Submitted 2 weeks ago. I don't know if I got lucky or if this is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the new process will expidite things. I was assigned a negotiator and he has been extremely responsive but all communication has to go through Equator. It's a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. It's much better than waiting through 3 separate negotiation phases.

Michael Campus said:
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
We had an approval within 2 weeks of everything being uploaded and they gave us 60 days from the approval date to close. Our property already had the BPO's complete so they did not have to wait for those to be ordered and come in. Good luck with your offer.

Makoto - Congrats on your approval.

Makoto Sato said:
Our ratified contract was uploaded on Dec 24th. The Closing date is set for 3/24/2010 = 3 months. Ours had a 1st and 2nd mortgage both with Bank of America. Others have had different results.

Susanne said:
Two weeks from the date you submitted offer? I'm a buyer trying to see what we're up against. I understand the offer was submitted a week or so ago by the LA. Any insight on recent timing using Equator system?

Donita Dickinson said:
Just received an approval on Equator. Submitted 2 weeks ago. I don't know if I got lucky or if this is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the new process will expidite things. I was assigned a negotiator and he has been extremely responsive but all communication has to go through Equator. It's a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. It's much better than waiting through 3 separate negotiation phases.

Michael Campus said:
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
GREETINGS ALL- please disregard what I posted about it not being necessary to have the borrower register. I was unable to circumvent that requirement as I have been previously. However, I just have them call, register, and send me the password. I upload all their info for them, because if they do it, when you call to negotiate, you don't know what they submitted.

I did find out something that may help speed up the process: when you take the listing fo ra short sale, have the seller call 866-677-2516 and set up the account. It is not necessary to have the home listed prior to the homeowner setting up their account. This saves time where the seller may not have all their documentation readily available to upload after you receive an offer. If you submit an offer and the seller has not set up their account yet, the short sale gets placed on hold until they submit their info.

For those whose have not yet done so, check the Treasury dept upcoming short sale guidelines that will become effective April 5. Just google "new short sale guidelines april 5, 2010"

Donita Dickinson said:
We had an approval within 2 weeks of everything being uploaded and they gave us 60 days from the approval date to close. Our property already had the BPO's complete so they did not have to wait for those to be ordered and come in. Good luck with your offer.

Makoto - Congrats on your approval.

Makoto Sato said:
Our ratified contract was uploaded on Dec 24th. The Closing date is set for 3/24/2010 = 3 months. Ours had a 1st and 2nd mortgage both with Bank of America. Others have had different results.

Susanne said:
Two weeks from the date you submitted offer? I'm a buyer trying to see what we're up against. I understand the offer was submitted a week or so ago by the LA. Any insight on recent timing using Equator system?

Donita Dickinson said:
Just received an approval on Equator. Submitted 2 weeks ago. I don't know if I got lucky or if this is a sign of things to come. Hopefully, the new process will expidite things. I was assigned a negotiator and he has been extremely responsive but all communication has to go through Equator. It's a little confusing but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad. It's much better than waiting through 3 separate negotiation phases.

Michael Campus said:
Too many different threads on this site, but this topic seems to be where USEFUL INFORMATION belongs.
1. Most Important **** the generic negotiators are 10,000 miles away. Yes, America, you are once again being farmed out to the B of A processing station in Mumbai ( formerly New Delhi) INDIA

2. This is why, if one little item is wrong with your submission, instead of asking you to submit the missing info, you get totally rejected and have to start over.

I read a few of you talking about setting up seller accounts and email- NOT NECESSARY!!! Its the same as when you used to call and they would ask who is speaking ( just state the name of the person on the borrower authorization) like, they can't see you, so how do they know who it is? Same thing in email. DO NOT put the sellers email address, use yours! Get all the info from the seller like you used to when you had to fax in the first 1000 pages. If you do all the work yourself, then you know it will be done correctly, and you don't have to rely on the seller to submit anything. They shouldn't have to anyway. Thats our job. Never had a seller ever have to send in anything or talk to the bank before, why should they now?
Thank you for the wonderful information. The sellers agent just requested that exact information from my buyer, we both thought it was odd. I believe it is her first run through Equator. Fortunately the buyer is an associate of mine and it was not an issue.

I do have 1 question I hope you or someone knowledgeable can answer. It was 3 weeks after the full package was submitted when the agent requested the buyers info. I also asked at that time if an appraisal/BPO had been ordered yet, which she said had been. If the buyers info was not submitted into the system, but the appraisal/BPO was ordered then the short sale process initiates when the seller applies online, is this correct? Having an accurate timeline is important in this situation as have a first time buyer on a deadline. Also I'm sure it is a matter of time before I have to use this system. Thank you in advance for any input.
My guess is that the agent sent the package through the fax a couple of weeks ago and was then instructed to upload everything through Equator. She is basically starting over but once everything is complete within the system it moves pretty quick. On ours we had a counter back on a few items, escrow fee, commissions and property taxes within two weeks of uploading. I had to counter back on the taxes. The negotiator then accepted and forwarded it to the investor. Within a couple of days of that we had the official approval letter. Personally, I love the new system. You can see where everything is at, the communication is clear and pretty easy to understand, plus an added bonus of one negotiator. It was a very simple hands on process with no more hours of being on hold. Everything is at your fingertips.

Nathan Dale Tramel said:
Thank you for the wonderful information. The sellers agent just requested that exact information from my buyer, we both thought it was odd. I believe it is her first run through Equator. Fortunately the buyer is an associate of mine and it was not an issue.

I do have 1 question I hope you or someone knowledgeable can answer. It was 3 weeks after the full package was submitted when the agent requested the buyers info. I also asked at that time if an appraisal/BPO had been ordered yet, which she said had been. If the buyers info was not submitted into the system, but the appraisal/BPO was ordered then the short sale process initiates when the seller applies online, is this correct? Having an accurate timeline is important in this situation as have a first time buyer on a deadline. Also I'm sure it is a matter of time before I have to use this system. Thank you in advance for any input.
Thank you so much for the response, that makes perfect sense. Congrats on a quick approval, yours is not the first case I have read. It seems recently Equator has worked great for many agents. I'm curious, did you have a PMI to negotiate?

RSS

Members

© 2024   Created by Brett Goldsmith.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

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