The NEW & IMPROVED?? Short Sale Process with Bank of America

So, we've been hearing about it but now it has arrived. BofA has a new short sale processing system.  They now require both the borrower and the agent to upload info to their short sale website.  The agent enters their info via www.equator.com and the client will do it via www.bankofamerica.com/shortsale

The Bank of America/Equator system is very new and the first files were entered into the system around the October time frame. I have heard through the grapevine that some of my peers have received approvals in 75 days! This is amazing considering Bank of America's track record! I am accustomed to a MINIMUM 4 month timeline for a BofA approval.  Now, that of course is if you can get the original buyer to hold on that long.  Most don't, so if you have to replace the offer the process practically starts all over again.

Hopefully with the Equator system we will see improved timelines. The trickiest part is getting everything into the Equator system correctly so the file can be processed and approved. Right now it appears to be a black hole due to many of the Bank of America personnel not being trained on the system and not knowing what to do or how to help Realtors and sellers on the system. 

Here is how it works: The agent needs to go to www.equator.com and set up an agent profile (if they don't have one already) and assign yourself the short sale.

The borrower will need to call 866.770.7961 and tell them that they need to get a "Borrower Login." They will email a temporary password that he will need to use to login to the site (www.bankofamerica.com/shortsale) and enter their financial information.  They will also need to upload all of their financial documentation on this site!

Documents required include: 2 Recent Paystubs, 2  Recent Bank Statements, Last 2 Years Taxes, and there is space to write a 1000 word hardship "letter". My biggest issue with the new system is that it is an automated on-line system that will require the sellers to log into it and enter information, and even upload .pdf documents. This will create new challenges for sellers that are not web savvy nor have any desire to enter any information into a web portal and will cause more delays.

I am remaining positive that this will be a much better solution in the long run.  What has your experience been thus far with this new process? I would love to hear from other agents and clients that have actually gotten approvals this way.