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Will the Short Sale Lender Really Make You Pay a Deficiency?

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC BK607690

Hi folks. Do you ever wonder what happens after the Short Sale? If the lien holder states they will be contacting you after closing to make arrangements for you to pay the rest of the money you owe....do you believe them? Well you should.

I had a closing a few months ago where Bank of America was the 2nd lien holder. The lien was a HELOC (home equity line of credit) for $65,000. For those of us that work Short Sales we know that these HELOCs can be very unforgiving. The reason is that these loans are normally taken out after the property was purchased. In many cases the funds from the HELOC were used to purchase "toys", e.g., furnishings, cars, vacations and other goodies that having nothing to with real estate. The holder of the HELOC, in this case Bank of America, are not too anxious to take a loss while the borrower is driving around in a free and clear Hummer.

When it came time to negotiate the HELOC on the property the best we could do was get them the $6,500  allowed from the 1st  lien holder, GMAC. Bank of America accepted this amount.

However, Bank of America's Short Sale approval letter specifically stated that the deficiency of $59,500 was to be charged off as a COLLECTIBLE balance and that they would be in contact with the borrower to make arrangements to pay this balance. Bank of America would not forgive the "Short".

The seller was however being forgiven almost $300,000 from GMAC on the 1st lien In fact, GMAC was stating that the 1st would be satisfied in full. Being that this was the case the seller decided to accept the terms from Bank of America, close the transaction and deal with the shortage later.

The transaction closed and all was well.

About 90 days after closing Bank of America contacted the seller to make arrangements for the money he still owed. The Seller negotiated with them for a couple of weeks and was able to get Bank of America to accept $2,500 as payment in full!

So in the end it all turned out very well. For a total payment of $2,500 the seller was able to be unencumbered  from a combined debt of more than $350,000!! And he avoided having a foreclosure on his credit. I would say he did very well. What say you?

Are you facing foreclosure in Florida?

Do NOT be foreclosed on! Avoid foreclosure. Short Sales DO close.

Want to find out more? www.CentralFloridaShortSales.com

***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

The BIO for Bryant Tutas

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***I am NOT an Attorney nor do I play one on TV. Click the button below for my Bio.

The BIO for Bryant Tutas

 

 Tutas Towne Realty, Inc handles Florida real estate sales, Florida short sales, Florida strategic short sales, Florida pre-foreclosure sales, Florida foreclosures in Kissimmee Florida Short Sales, Davenport Florida Short Sales, Haines City Florida Short Sales, Poinciana Florida Short Sales, Solivita Florida Short Sales,  Orlando Florida Short Sales, Celebration Florida Short Sales, Windermere Florida Short Sales. Serving all of Polk, Osceola and Orange Counties Florida. Florida Short Sale Broker. Short Sale Florida.

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Comments(52)

Roland Woodworth
Blue Cord Realty - Clarksville, TN
Blue Cord Realty

What a great story Bryant - BOA can be harsh on these HELOC Loans...

Congratulations Missy !

Sep 09, 2010 05:32 PM
Christine Donovan
Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA
Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

This sounds like a very good outcome for your seller to me.  Avoided foreclosure and major deficiency.

Sep 09, 2010 05:45 PM
Lori Mode
The Mode Real Estate Group - Elk Grove, CA
Real Estate Made Simple

Good to hear such a great outcome on a BofA Heloc!  I have a couple Bank of America short sales with Bank of America helocs; I'll be on the lookout for this!

Sep 09, 2010 05:52 PM
Debra Leisek
Bay Realty,Inc Homer Alaska - Homer, AK

I just sent this to my neice very good information for her right now! thanks

Sep 09, 2010 06:20 PM
Elite Home Sales Team
Elite Home Sales Team OC - Corona del Mar, CA
A Tenacious and Skilled Real Estate Team

Now that is a story that came out well.  I am suprised that they accepted $2,500.

Sep 09, 2010 06:30 PM
Pamela Seley
West Coast Realty Division - Murrieta, CA
Residential Real Estate Agent serving SW RivCo CA

I'd say good outcome.  Your Sellers were lucky, or BoA was having a good day.

Sep 09, 2010 07:35 PM
Peggy James
SAMSON PROPERTIES - Woodbridge, VA
Woodbridge Virginia Area Real Estate Specialist

Thank you for writing this post. Every homeowner wonders what will happen after the Short Sale is accepted especially when their is a home equity line of credit. It is always helpful when a distressed homeowner can get a feel for what others have  gone through and what is possible. The seller did awesome!

Sep 10, 2010 12:39 AM
Tim Maitski
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA
Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal

Bryant, Great job.  I'd like to see from others what the average settlement for these deficiencies are.  Is this an odd ball or is it in line with the market for this kind of thing? I've heard thrown around something like 10 cents on the dollar but never get much in real life scenarios.  Thanks for sharing your results.

Sep 10, 2010 01:28 AM
Irene Kennedy Realtor® in Northwestern NJ
Weichert - Lopatcong, NJ

BB,

Amazing settlement here! Often a bank decides something was better than nothing but this is wild.

Sep 10, 2010 01:36 AM
Lorraine or Loretta Kratz
Crescent Moon Realty, Inc. & Land N Sea Auctions. - San Marcos, CA
Certified Negotiation Consultants

Here in San Diego short sales can go either way--it closes or the seller decides that they are not going to worry about deficiency judgments and goes to foreclosure.

Two of my clients after accepting a short sales, filed bankruptcy immediately after the close of escrow upon advice of there attorneys.

Sep 10, 2010 04:33 AM
Lisa Spalding
Casa Latino Four Corners, REALTOR, CDPE - Longwood, FL
REALTOR, CDPE

Woo hoo!  You did so much better than good with this Seller.  Holy cow.  :)

Sep 10, 2010 08:28 AM
Bryant Tutas
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL
Selling Florida one home at a time

Hey guys. Sorry it took me so long to get back here. I've been going to work too early and by the time I get done I'm mentally spent!! As always I appreciate all of your comments.

I always ask my sellers to keep in touch with me after the short sale. I want to know how they handle these issues and what the banks are doing after we close. I also want oo see the satisfaction fo lien once they are recorded. The more information I glean now the better prepared I'll be to help folks in the future.

John #20 HOAs in Florida are getting out of control to say the least. It's hard to fault them though. They have really taken a beating with so many folks not paying.

Damon. #21 Happy to hear you are almost done with that FHA PFS. I've been having issues lately with the values coming back too high on te HUD 90045. I try to dispute them but they take so long.

And  big kudos to my seller for doing such an awesome job!!!

Sep 10, 2010 09:48 AM
Sharon Alters
Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty - 904-673-2308 - Fleming Island, FL
Realtor - Homes for Sale Fleming Island FL

BB, thanks for sharing this post on what a seller was able to do after the short sale! Will definitely file this away for future use :)

Sep 10, 2010 06:20 PM
Ryan Case
SCA Real Estate - Anaheim, CA
877-828-0710

If they wanted the seller to pay the difference, I would just let it go back to the bank!

Sep 10, 2010 06:21 PM
Kent Dills
Broker, Dills Real Estate - Bellingham, WA
Real Estate 817-495-8028, Bellingham, Washington

BB, another good job done for what should be a very greatful seller!  And another good practical example/case study of how short sales REALLY GET DONE!  Killer job dude!  Keep on rockin!

Sep 11, 2010 02:14 AM
Ralph Gorgoglione
Metro Life Homes - Palm Springs, CA
California and Hawaii Real Estate (310) 497-9407

This is true.

First, this happens because on a HELOC the money was "consumed". With the first lender, even though there was a huge deficiency, the seller did not "consume" any money. It was just the fate of the market.

And yes, for a balance that the bank states will be still collected, the bank knows darn well that the seller always has the option to declare bankruptcy, so they will probably negotiates to get whatever they can because they know if they press too hard, the seller will look to press the "BK" button.

Sep 11, 2010 03:19 AM
Lizette Fitzpatrick
Lizette Realty - Richmond KY - Lexington, KY
Lizette Realty, Lexington KY MLS - Kentucky Homes

THat's really great that the seller only had to pay that amount...and he still get's to keep the Hummer.

Sep 11, 2010 03:21 AM
Coldwell Banker Camelot Realty
Coldwell Banker Camelot Realty - Mount Dora, FL
Homes for Sale Mount Dora Realtor

BB, That is a great story.  A home run for everyone involved.

Keep up the great BLOGS!

Sep 11, 2010 04:33 AM
Allison Stewart
St.Cloud Homes - Saint Cloud, FL
St. Cloud Fl Realtor, Osceola County Real Estate 407-616-9904

Wonderful outcome! 

Sep 13, 2010 02:10 AM
Carol Andersen
Navarre Beach Agency - Navarre, FL
NW Floridanulls Real Estate Pro, TRC, ICREA

Great Post!  We were recently reminded all our short sale customers to contact both professional Real Estate CPAs and Lawyers to ensure they understood all the ramifications of their short sale.

Sep 13, 2010 02:46 AM