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Freddie Mac- Is There Anyone There That Knows How To Read?

Freddie Mac- Is there anyone there that knows how to read? Our last hope is that someone there in your office has the decency to respond to our many requests and the homeowner's many requests for help.

Freddie Mac- You rejected a short sale work out program for this homeowner and we had 2 buyers ready to pay the appraised price for this property. Your appraisal came in below what the buyers are willing to pay for this house.

Freddie Mac- The homeowner even hired an attorney to make sure there was nothing amiss in the short sale documents. You sent this file to your legal department and then never disclosed the reason it was sent to your legal department. So much for the transparency that was promised.

Freddie Mac- Chase is the servicer for this note that you own. Our negotiator at Chase is the trainer for Freddie Mac loss mitigation.We know she knows what she is doing. She is highly respected and competant. She saw no issues with this work out package. In fact, she was fully expecting an approval from Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac- You send Chase a denial letter for the short sale along with stating that you will not approve any work out program for this homeowner. So you want to own another home in Port St Lucie and then sell it in a declining market as a foreclosure instead of providing a home for a new buyer who is qualified and ready to buy this property?

Freddie Mac- Chase stopped the sale of this house back in July in order to process the short sale. The negotiator was so sure this would go through as we did also and the homeowner's attorney also thought this was a slam dunk short sale approval that they stopped the sale at the courthouse. As soon as you reject the short sale you put the property back up on the auction block with a date of October 27.

Freddie Mac- The homeowner has asked you over and over again for a reason for this rejection in case there is something that could easily be worked out. You stated back on August 16th that you would generate the letter. As of today neither us nor the homeowner have received any thing from you with a reason for the rejection. This is the first time since 1995 of doing short sales that we have run into such a stumbling block and one that is created by Freddie Mac.

The homeowner and we who are her agents have written letters, faxes and emails to all the chain of command at Freddie Mac and the Senators and Congressmen in Washington DC to beg for someone to care enough to respond. Time is of the essence. There has to be a reason and this rejection needs to be overturned because there is no possible legitimate reason why this short sale was rejected when it met every criteria that Freddie mac requires. (Unless you are discriminating against female senior citizens- we have not ever seen anything like this in our entire careers.)

The following people have NOT responded!

Mr Bruce Witherell, Chief Operation Officer at Freddie Mac,
Mr Donald J Bisenius, Executive Vice President Freddie Mac,
Mr Charles E Halderman CEO of Freddie Mac,
Senator Bill Nelson,
Congresswoman Caroline McCarthy,
Congressman Tom Rooney.

Senator Charles Schumer is the only one who responded. He sent a letter he wrote in behalf of the homeowner, our letter and our homeowner's letter directly to Mr Bernard Fulton who is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. We have not heard from Bernard Fulton as of this date. We are very thankful to Senator Charles Schumer for his help in trying to get this situation in the right hands.

Freddie Mac- You can contact Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset at 561-753-0135 to get us the answers and remedies we are seeking.

FTC Disclosure: This post may incite, motivate or encourage a homeowner somewhere to contact us to list their property as a short sale because they see that we will fight to the bitter end to make sure our sellers get a fair shake and positive outcome to their short sale.

T o view Florida Short Sales- Click here . We know Palm Beach County Short Sales and Port St Lucie Florida Short Sales and will help you get your home Sold if you need to Sell your home and help you buy your home in Palm Beach County Florida : Call us today.

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Posted by Nestor & Katerina Gasset Realtors® Wellington Florida Luxury Homes on 10/17/2009 01:29 AM

Comments (71)

Short Sales / Foreclosures in the ActiveRain Channel

freddie mac short sales, freddie mac, short sales, help with short sales, florida short sale agents, port st lucie short sale agents

Originally posted at: South Florida Real Estate and...: Freddie Mac- Is There Anyone There That Knows How To Read?

This post has been included in Florida Information Saint Lucie County, FL Information Port Saint Lucie, FL Information
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71 Comments on Freddie Mac- Is There Anyone There That Knows How To Read?

OCT

katerina,

You really fight to bitter end, that's for sure. This is so strange. Why would they turn down the sale and no reason whatsoever?

Isn't it so frustrating to be someone who is competent and resourceful that has to work within a framework of senseless bureaucracy? Borderline stupidity?

OK. Maybe no borders..............

I used to do work for Freddie's REO department in Dallas. That was back in the late '90s. I knew the people that worked those files and they were diligent. From what I understand, they are long gone.

I have recently tried to find out if there were any left, but I can't even get a number to any of the departments.

Freddie won't even answer Chase! Chase management who we have great relations with is clueless to what Freddie decided on this file. The negotiator that sent the completed file to Freddie is the one that trains all Chase loss mitigators for Freddie loss mitigation. She was shocked. Never had that happen to one of her files either. It is just TOOO weird!

Nestor and Katerina - Keep on giving those guys the what for. They are not getting their jobs done.

Katerina, Do you really expect any more, er I mean less from the Feds? I mean, let's get with the program here. Bureaucracy, is so ingrained in the federal way of doing business. Maybe these ✂ will help you cut through all the red tape...

Helping you live your American dream...

The owner of the property should be sitting in the office of her Senator(s) and Representative's office. If one of them contacts Freddie Mac, they would respond.

This case needs some light shined by a good investigative reporter.

From the record in your post, it would appear that the owner has been selected for some type of personal punishment. Unless she has committed a crime, that's not the job of the bureaucrats at Freddie.

This just demonstrats how inept the feds are! I agree with Lenn, call every reporter in your area.

Wow....I am speechless. I shouldn't be, but I guess it's a good thing I still expect common courtesy and the social mores to be followed in a civilized society...so that is a good thing to be speechless right? Seeing atrocious and rude behavior over and over again by banks, REO specialist and now Fannie Mae still surprises me - so I am not totally jaded yet....

I sincerely hope you get this matter resolved in a matter that is proper and just for your clients.

I sincerely hope that a corporation will at the very least respond to a very reasonable inquiry.

I sincerely hope that these post don't stop surprising me.

Katerina, Way to fight the good fight!! Fortunately I haven't had to go to that extreme on any of my deals yet but I'm sure it will happen as I get more and more short sales to work. Great job!!!

It'll be interesting to see if this post gets their attention.

Katerina, Go get em and I so hope you can get this done for your client. It is frustrating when you can not come up with any reasoning behind the denial. With all our short sales, I have yet had to deal with a denial from Freddie. Sure as time goes on we will. I see that the client is a senior. Are there any Senior special interest groups that can be contacted as well? (AARP comes to mind).

Katerina, I too would love to see you get a response from this post. Goodness knows enough people are reading Activerain, let's hope one of them steps up and actually does something! Good luck to you and your clients.

If our legislatures only knew what was going on out there. Hopefully, this post will get into the right hands. With it being featured it should get out there somewhere. After all the comments you will get send it to them and the White House.

I agree...the media needs to get hold of this.

I'm sure you read the post a couple of weeks back titles "is the FDIC going broke". If not it might help to explain why the banks aren't anxious to put the effort into a short sale. I'm not a conspiracy theorist but the post poses a compelling argument.

It shouldn't have come down to this, but you are right, another government run agency who clearly doesn't know what they are doing is trying to get in to private business and think they know what they are doing. I have to admit most banks don't either, but at least they use some common sense, here the government is not... Tell me again why social security, the post office and Amtrak are all going bankrupt?

Todd Clark - www.LivingBeaverton.com

Great cause and the homeowner is very lucky theyhired you at first place. Going after them may appear to be a futile attempt but there is an intended cause that will surface from it

Katerina, most short sale agents don't take it to this level, and they need to. Kudos to you and Nestor for representing your clients with all your heart and your mind!!!

Nice post. I admire the tenacity that you have put forth in the transaction. That's the level of tenacity that I use, too. My Freddie Mac files have taken forever to get approved. Yours sounds a little bit atyipical. Good luck!

Katerina I hope your efforts pay off. You are obviously going the extra mile for your clients!

It's a shame you have to go to these lengths to try and get the deserved results. It's impossible to understand this outcome given what you have done adn the status of the filke, etc. Pretty scary demonstration of the ineptness in some areas of our government and thebanking industry. HOpe this publicity will get the desired result quickly.

Jeff

Gee. I am lost. Could you explain how Chase owns the mortgage but Freddie and Fannie are to blame? I had always thought that the FHA program loans were administered by the "private" banks and bundled up and "sold" to Freddie. If Freddie owns it then why is Chase involved in accepting a "short" sale? Or, maybe there is more to the issue? Like the PMI? Who received the PMI and who is required to pay back the government backed loan?

Maybe you are placing blame where it ought not to be?

I feel your frustration - but, I'm not sure you are blameing the right people. The bill of rights does not include the right to be forgiven your debts.

WOW! I would love to see what their response is when they ever get around to responding.

It's a shame when slam dunk deals can't even get approved.

Katerina did not say Chase owned the loan, she said they service it, a difference. I know these guys know what they are doing, I would not doubt for a second they are aiming their frustration and amazement at the right people. The sellers are very lucky to have hit the jackpot when it comes to the right agents to use, and as far as the decision, this is just another example that all the good guys have gone and that buffoons are left to make decisions that make zero sense.

Katerina, Hopefully your diligence will result in a favorable response... eventually. Partisinship aside, I must give Kudos to Schumer for picking up the ball, now let's pray someone runs with it!

Katerina...wow this is a good fight. It is unbelievable to me that this did not end better. I am glad to see the Senator responded...shame on Freddie Mac!

This is why more government is not the answer !!! The more people you involve who really aren't familar with the everyday workings of an industry, aren't likely to be able to make the right decisions in an expediant manner !!!

Kat, one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing. I think everyone is AFRAID to make a decision lest they are called on the carpet. Geesh, we're in for the battle of our lives. :-) Deb

Gregory- You did not read the post correctly or I did not make it clear enough.

Chase is the servicer. Freddie Mac is the note owner. There is no PMI. We know all the players in this deal. We know how to find out. We are very tight with the Chase managers, 2 of their negotiators who we get our short sales assigned to per our request every short sale because they know what they are doing and VPs of Loss Mitigation.
Chase sees no reason why this short sale was denied.
Freddie Mac is the one who told us and chase and the homeowner that the short sale and any other options were denied but gave us no reason or option to fix what did not fit.
I certainly Do know who to blame!

We close short sales every week, every month on the sellers' sides.
This is the first time Freddie has rejected a short sale. Katerina

Michael- And now they want to regulate how short sales are done including interfering with our listing contracts by dictating to us the listing agents how long we are going to be able to take a short sale listing for, that the homeowner is going to be required to first apply to refi or loan mod- because of course, if they do that, they will have to share in the profits with the government. This is the largest takeover of property rights ever in our history and we have seen nothing yet. Missy wrote a fantastic post about what Thomas Jefferson said 200+ years ago. It was not that he could see into the future. It was that he had learned from the past. This stuff just keeps recycling itself - they just change what they call it.

Here is his quote:

Banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks-- and corporations that will grow up around the banks--will deprive the people of all property, until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

I admire your efforts and attempts to resolve this problem. I agree with Lenn, if both buyer and seller would camp out in their Senator's local office, they might prod someone to go to take charge. Situations such as this cause us all to have little faith in our elected officials and the bureaucrats they support.

Curious about the chain of command. Assuming all superiors have been consulted and appealed to. If it was a dumb mistake on their part and they want to just sweep it under the carpet, is there any recourse at all? Or are you always just counting on their goodwill, logic, and responsiveness. It seems their "should" be a way to get answers.

Bryant- We have had to go to these kinds of extremes on a few others. We have one that there is a second that is owned by Etrade - the biggest pains ever! We keep fighting them on another deal.

We have gone to the top of Citimortgage in the beginning of the short sale wave about 2 years ago to get an approval from their VP- which we got. We had to go to the top of FDIC, we did an got what our seller wanted. We had to go to the top of 2 PMI companies and had both of those worked out and we had to go to the almost top of HSBC- where we get great results. But we also carry a lot of listings, usually it is about 48 to 50, inventory is down, we had 36 last week but just got 4 new listings to process so that brings us back up to 40. Naturally we are going to run into this.

But this one takes the cake. Not even a reason! Like she was singled out to get punished. We are not sure why but not even given an answer is dispicable.

Thanks for the reblog! Get this word out there so we can maybe get one of the powers that be to actually lift a finger to help, to get out of whatever cloud they are on, to actually serve the people they represent.

Nestor & Katerina, thanks for responding to my query. Seeing it in red must mean I hit a nerve. Sorry about that. You made a posting regarding short sales and placed the blame on the Federal Government for it not being granted to the homeowner. I disagree with you.

Chase received 10 BILLION dollars of TARP money because its VP's made bad loans. An attorney can review and reject a contract without explaination, so why can't Freddie? Maybe the government didn't like the sob story the homeowner gave to justify the short sale? I don't know. My point is NO ONE is entitled to a "short" sale.

I read blogs every day and, in my opinion, the same ones to are now bad mouthing the government action or inaction are the same ones who scream about "entitlements" being our number one problem here in America. Ya can't have it both ways.

You stated there is no PMI. How does one get a Feddie loan without the cost of PMI added to their payment schedule if they didn't put twenty percent down?

Thank you for naming names. If others who are in the short sale business would do so, maybe some of this mess would be fixed.

Next time you name names, maybe adress, phone and email would be helpful to others.

Kudos to you for your persistence. You are to be commended for the time and effort you are putting forth for your clients. Wish there were more of you out there!!

Hard to believe but we are having more problems with Fannie than Freddie. I have two short sales that we started in the first of June. Hold up? Waiting for Fannie Mae approval.

Katerina - I'm glad to know that Realtors like you are out there, most would have thrown in the towel already. I applaud your efforts, way to fight!

Now this it what I call going to every extreme possible to help the consumer, your seller, and I applaud you on your effort. A shining example of a true Professional.

How about a video on youtube to help the effort.

Katerina, I can see the steam rolling out of your ears all the way out here on the West Coast. Go get 'em!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I spent 6 months trying to get approval on a Chase funded Fannie Mae backed loan and the seller lost all confidence in me. This was even with my documented proof of contact to the loss mitigation department. I feel just a bit better knowing that this is a systematic issue.

I loss the listing... now some other agent will more than likely wear them down. After reading your post, I don't feel as bad.

And to think that there was a point in which the banks wanted to get in the business of selling real estate! No way!

Just another political stumbling block...they're too buay eating lunch to answer..hopefully I'll never hav e one like that...good luck with it

How very frustrating it is to have people not answer you. Unfortunately they seem to be federal employees who don't have to answer to us, the voters. Maybe if you consider that everyone here who comments on this blog has just signed a petition, and then send it to your congressperson/ senator/ governor etc, as well as send it as a letter to the editor in your local newspaper, something might be done.

Much luck, let us know how it turns out.

Katerina,

It's truly amazing that things like this keep on happening despite your customer's file being solid. It occurs in the private sector as well as in the government, day in and day out. Don't give up.

this should be ALL over the news! every media outlet known would receive word of this! just think, how many homes have gone up for foreclosure that really should have had to...this is outrageous. you're a VERY good agent for making noise and fighting for your client's rights. this is the type of thing that shows what this business is really about. WTG! are you getting NAR involved to make some noise as well? watch, if this hits the media, more of these victims will surface....

Katerina: You certainly are going the extra mile for your clients, and they are fortunate to have you as their agent! I hope it works out, as I am sure the media already has ahold of this. Go get em.....

Katerina - You and Nestor obviously aren't giving up easily. I hope that your efforts will pay off for your seller.

I like Lenn's idea of having the seller park in a Congressional office until someone is called and something is done.

I give you credit you go all the way for your client. I never thought of contacting my government officials. You go girl!

OCT

Absolute ludicrous. I'm so sorry this is happening to you and your clients. I really hope this gets worked out. Please keep us all posted of the outcome.

Be well,

Brendan Winans

Katerina, Well stated and well defended. I want to know where it goes from here. Hopefully it will end in closing and soon.

Katerina,

I implore you to take this to the media! I sent a very "aggressive" email to the Sr. VP over short sales at Bank of America after being lied to time and again from their negotiators. Citing his words from a media story, I had an approval within 2 weeks. Had I been brushed off further, my next step most definitely was to go to every media source that would listen.

I think the general public has no clue what is really happening and while I am no fan of entitlements, if the Government is spending all this money under the guise of "helping" people than gosh darn it, put "our" money where "your" mouth is and get this done.

Great job going to bat for your clients. I for one will be anxious to read the follow up to this. Please keep us informed!

Best of luck,

Micki

Gregory- They did not have PMI because they put more than 20% down when they bought the property. They do not have PMI because Freddie bought the paper during the mortgage backed securities frenzy.
We have tons of people here in Florida who got 80/20 loans and 80/10/10 loans- no PMI options. Out of the last 24 short sales we have closed only 3 have had PMI.

I am not for entitlements, never have been, never will be. I was against any bail outs for any banks. I think they should be allowed to fail. That is what makes for stronger companies; fall down, regroup and start over.

First of all, this is the first short sale rejection we have had from any lender since we started doing short sales in 1995. Whenever a lender has an issue they come to us to ask us about something they are having an issue with and the homeowner gets to explain. We only take short sale listings that we know will close.

I am not saying that lenders or Freddie HAVE to do short sales. They don't. But they also don't HAVE to foreclose either. Of course that is their right under the contract. That is not the point of my post.

The point of my post is to get someone off their butts to answer the homeowner in why do they NOT want to have the property occupied by a new buyer and get this deal off their books. The point of my post is that the government should be accountable for their actions. We have it in writing that Katie, our rep at Freddie said that on 8/16 she was sending the homeowner a letter of rejection and the reason why. It is now 10/18 and still no letter! That is the point.

There are people at Freddie Mac who are working themselves to the bone...one committed suicide because the work was too much, the responsibility of helping everyone was too much...how dare you slander the employees of the company that is making a difference for many...not everyone can be helped....there are employees who are working 80 hours per week and not enough help is coming fast enough...believe me the company is in an all hands mode to help the citizens stay in their homes...recently there have been many articles published supporting that fact....there was a reason you didn't get your short sale and you are missing the reason because of backlog....I commend you to keep trying, but this slander is intolerable.

oh and further more....the Government is not responsible for bailing out anyone....we are lucky that they have been bailing out the banks as they have been and that Fannie and Freddie have been working to keep people in their homes....just because they are trying to help the sellers, does not mean everyone is going to get the help or is ENTITLED...noone is entitled..they got themselves in their own mess...

Funny and sad at the same time.

Katerina --- I noticed that this post was not written for Google -- is this one that you will go back and edit? It covers all the questions and frustrations regarding Freddie Mac -- I certainly don't have the answer, but the government certainly does not either.

Mama Liz

Liz- No it is not written to be on the first page for these keywords. People looking for those words are not going to be able to help me in my quest. They are looking for loan mod info or for Freddie, the dept itself.

Liz- I am hoping that our congressman or the media who scour the blogs will find this or someone will send it to someone in authority.

Anonymous- We are certainly NOT lucky that the government bailed out the banks. Study Thomas Jefferson. Banks with too much control are not a good thing for freedom. They should be allowed to fail.

There are employees under stress in every segment of society.There are also homeowners in foreclosure who have committed suicide. It happens everywhere.

Freddie and Fannie are not innocent in all of this. Freddie CEOs have committed so much fraud and are held above the law. Freddie is the one that decided to start buying up all the mortgage backed securities. We did not force them to do that. It was greed that made them do that and now you want to defend their greed, corruption, extortion and the like? Don't even go there.

Slander- look up the word in the dictionary. This post is by no means slander. It is a call to help for our homeowner whom we represent.

OCT

Katerina,

I am wondering why you believe that banks should be allowed to fail but individuals should not be allowed to fail?

Ross- I certainly do believe that individuals should be allowed to fail, just as I have failed several times in my life. Failure makes you grow and makes you stronger. This post is not about this lady not failing. She already failed by making a bad purchasing decision when she allowed herself to be talked in to buying a second home here in Florida. She thought she could rent it out, she thought a lot of things that did not come to pass. Now she is unemployed, over 60 and is trying to avoid a foreclosure. A short sale is by no means here in Florida a success, it is also a failure in that regard as she is not benefiting except by doing the right thing. This post is not about not allowing her to fail. This post is about keeping one more home out of the ranks of foreclosures and into the hands of a buyer that has been wanting this home for 5 months now. This post is about how we represent our sellers. It is not our job to judge whether this seller should be allowed to fail or not. That is not what she hired us for. She hired us to do all that we can to avoid foreclosure and to sell her property as a short sale. This is our job, this is what we have chosen to do. This is our market right now. Katerina

Update: Today our seller was able to finally speak to a manager at Freddie Mac. This manager says that he will be able to research her property tomorrow and that he will call her back tomorrow. Thank you for all of your support and good vibes being sent to this deal! We will update you as soon as we hear something from Freddie.

OCT

"...This post is not about not allowing her to fail. This post is about keeping one more home out of the ranks of foreclosures and into the hands of a buyer that has been wanting this home for 5 months now. This post is about how we represent our sellers. It is not our job to judge whether this seller should be allowed to fail or not. That is not what she hired us for. She hired us to do all that we can to avoid foreclosure and to sell her property as a short sale. This is our job, this is what we have chosen to do."

Katrina, I commend both of you for doing your job. Keep up the great work.

Paul- Thank you Paul for your support! I am hoping to hear tomorrow morning the results of an investigation that a supervisor promissed our seller. Katerina

OCT

Way to go Nestor & Katerina, I applaud your guts to post your displeasure with Freddie Mac. I think you have spoken well for all of us who are sick and tired of the mysterious reasons some lenders refuse to play ball with Short Sales, when it is obvious they will lose even more money if they go into foreclosure. Keep us posted on how your transaction works out. I have a similar one I'm fighting tooth and nail for.

OCT

I submitted an offer for a buyer on a Tenant Occupied Freddie Mac home, and 5 days before closing, we have learned that they have not notified the tenant! They expected my buyers to close on the home, and THEN notify the tenant.

It's an FHA loan, and we can not close until the tenant is out, they do not want to notify the tenant until the home is closed.... Anyone else see a problem on the horizon?