Special offer

How Bank of America Made Me Laugh Today... Right Before Crying

By
Real Estate Agent with Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Irvine REALTOR

Short Set Up, so this all makes sense....

1) Took Short Sale Listing

2) Provided Great Service to my client   ( Duh :-)

3) Submitted Offer into Equator

Here's where the fun begins!

After doing everything correctly and completing all tasks, the offer was rejected with NO EXPLANATION!

No notes, no email, no nothing! Just rejected... weird, right?

Then I noticed the "Submit Offer Task" appeared again. So I thought to myself, "Self, maybe Equator made an error. It is, after all, just a computer!."

But then I thought, maybe I should call first... so I did! And the person I spoke with was actually very friendly and seemed knowledgeable. We discussed the situation, and she told me that the offer was rejected because it was TOO LOW. Now the offer came in $10,000.00 below my list price, and my list price (at the risk of sounding very conceited) was SPOT ON! So I know the offer wasn't too low.
We spoke a bit longer, and she said she would order a review of the property, and she asked me to upload 3 Comps that support my list price. I had this finished before we even got off the phone, it was that easy!

She then told me to upload the offer again, and email the negotiator about the review... which, of course, I did immediately. Finally, she told me the offer would be "Held" (remember that part) for about 5 days for them to complete the value review.

Again, ALL OF THIS WAS DONE IN ABOUT 5 MINUTES, so I did exactly what I was told to do!

Today, I noticed the negotiator had "Rejected" the offer again, and sent me an email with the lamest explanation I've ever read. So I called again, and this time got someone who sounded like it was their first day on the job after being booted out of high school. After an extremely painful conversation, I finally got the kid to tell me that even though the negotiator should not have rejected the offer, she did so based on the previous appraisal... WHICH WAS DONE IN 2007!!!!

******************* 2007 *****************           WHAT?

"Gee, what a shock! It appraised for $280,000 in 2007 and I'm selling it for $199,00 today? Who would've thought that property values have dropped since '07?"

So for all you sellers out there that think your agent doesn't know what they're doing... well, you're probably right 75% of the time. But even the best agent is helpless when this is the response they get from your lender. More to come... in about 5 days... I hope.

Posted by

Rob Magnotta ~ http://www.servinghuntingtonbeach.com

714.330.9558 direct

Huntington Beach Short Sale Specialist Huntington Harbour Homes     Huntington Beach Short Sale Specialist Huntington Harbour Homes     Huntington Beach Short Sale Specialist Huntington Harbour Homes     Huntington Beach Short Sale Specialist Huntington Harbour Homes     Huntington Beach Short Sale Specialist Huntington Harbour Homes     Huntington Beach Short Sale Agent & Huntington Harbour Homes Top Realtor                      Green Realtor Orange County Homes Green Real Estate Agent     Huntington Beach REO Broker Orange County Homes REO Top Agent     Huntington Beach REO Broker Orange County Homes REO Top Agent

Bryan Robertson
Los Altos, CA

The short sale process is so broken as to be laughable.  BofA is particularly messed up.  I've heard a lot of stories like this and worse because nobody at the bank knows what they're doing and neither do the negotiators.  It's like the wild, wild, west.

May 12, 2011 07:03 AM
Nona Swann
Swann & Associates Real Estate - Indialantic, FL
Serving the needs of the Sellers in Brevard County

You gotta love Equator, you know the system that will make all our short sales easier, friendlier and faster.

I can see the crying part I didn't see the laughter part so I assume Rob you have a great sense of humor!

May 12, 2011 07:04 AM
Rob Magnotta
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Irvine REALTOR - Huntington Beach, CA
Huntington Beach & Newport Beach Coastal Specialist

Hi Bryan - Broken doesn't even cover it. Don't they realize that I can't fake 3 Active Comps? Come on.

May 12, 2011 07:05 AM
Rob Magnotta
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Irvine REALTOR - Huntington Beach, CA
Huntington Beach & Newport Beach Coastal Specialist

Hi Nona - Yes, I have an amazing sense of humor! Thanks for noticing :-)

I don't think I'd survive this biz without one!

May 12, 2011 07:07 AM
Lindsey Hasford
Edina Realty - Elk River, MN
Bringing you home...

I clicked through on your post title. It caught my eye and for good reason. I hope this works out for you.

May 12, 2011 07:07 AM
Rob Magnotta
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Irvine REALTOR - Huntington Beach, CA
Huntington Beach & Newport Beach Coastal Specialist

Hi Lindsey - Thanks! Maybe you'll "suggest" it  :-)   Thanks for the kind wishes! Me too.

May 12, 2011 07:10 AM
Stacey Smith
Keller Williams Realty - Aliso Viejo, CA
Your Orange County Beach Cities Realtor

Rob.. Negotiators are people that are to retarded to survive as agents..I hate to put it this way (no offense to anyone) but you pretty much have to assume that you are going to get a retard once you call to speak to a negotiatior... They don't know your market, they don't know they facts, they question your intelligence, and they base their facts off of false, or outdated information.

Their job isn't to successfully negotiate the short and look after what is best for the buyer and seller, or even get the most money for the property.. Their priorities are clearly misaligned because it seems their number priority is to give us hell...

Take a deep breath Rob and put on those boxing gloves and be prepared to push back. You can do this! Don't back down... Your the professional.. They are just some office drone somewhere in the midwest smoking crack!

May 12, 2011 07:16 AM
Rob Magnotta
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Irvine REALTOR - Huntington Beach, CA
Huntington Beach & Newport Beach Coastal Specialist

Stacey - A pep talk on a Thursday? Wow, what did I do to deserve this! :-)

May 12, 2011 07:19 AM
Jeff Pearl
RE/MAX Distinctive / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA
Full Service Full Time Realtor

I've had that friggin BOA customer service # memorized for moths. That are actually friemdly and helpful when you call, and usually have good answers, but there are still many glitches in the system. Get up in morning, check email, check facebook, check active rain, check for tasks on equator, etc. not always in that order.

 I wish BOA would combine live service with equator. Here is our complete offer netting the lender 85-90% of fair market value, approve it or reject it, and let me know what you need if it's rejected. OK, looks good, go to closing. The End.

May 12, 2011 07:49 AM
Rob Magnotta
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Irvine REALTOR - Huntington Beach, CA
Huntington Beach & Newport Beach Coastal Specialist

Jeff - Great suggestions. I suspect that BOA won't implement them, but I'll cross my fingers! Thanks.

May 12, 2011 07:52 AM
COMPASS PALM SPRINGS | Stewart Penn
COMPASS - Palm Springs, CA
COMPASS Palm Springs - Broker Associate

Rob - I can empathize with you totally!

The Banks really don't have a clue what they're doing with Short Sales.

It's chaos .....Most of the "Negotiators" are on "power trips" and have no real knowledge of the market.

Until Management re-thinks their procedures for processing Short Sales, the fiasco will continue.

May 13, 2011 12:24 AM
Barbara-Jo Roberts Berberi, MA, PSA, TRC - Greater Clearwater Florida Residential Real Estate Professional
Charles Rutenberg Realty - Clearwater, FL
Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor

I get SO SICK of these banks shafting everybody and hiring incompetent personnel! Thanks for your great post!!!

May 15, 2011 05:24 AM