Special offer

How Stupid Can a Bank Be!!! True Short Sale Story

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Short Sales Corp

We negotiate short sales all the time, thats what we do.  But today i had in particular an interesting discussion rather heated with a moron.  Now to be fair he was just towing the old policy of the bank bull, but lets get real.  I know unemployment is low and they may have to hire people with half a brain but common.

The Situation:  This property is in Chicago IL  there are 2 mortgages the 1st AMC which was just acquired by Citi

which is owed $330,000 the 2nd Specialized Loan Servicing (SLS) is owed another $40,000

 The property was on the market back in Jul-Aug at $325,000 with zero interest.  (WE WERE NOT INVOLVED AT THAT POINT)

 CURRENTLY THE LIST IS IN THE $285-290 RANGE

OFFER $ABOUT 275-280

AMC does their job and gives us an short sale approval with 1k going to the 2nd.

The monkeys at the second said they can't submit the offer for approval because its their policy that the offer must be equal 95% of their FMV appraisal done in Jul when it was listed at a ridiculous $325,000 range.

What's moronic is that even if they had a $325k offer they still would only be getting 1k since the first is taking a hit.  The moron said that if the offer was within 95% of that $325 that they would agree to get 1k.

I told him that that policy was implemented when the value of the home exceeds the first, but not when its upside down and your ridiculous value is even less than what is owed on the 1st.

IT GOT WORSE!!

Now John from the 2nd mortgage, indicated that the reason the bank does this, is to assist the seller and the community so they are not agreeing to accepted well below market offers.

I could not believe what i was hearing.  First of all the property is currently active list price is significantly below the made up FMV the 2nd believes its worth.

#2 The foreclosure sale date would not have been until Feb 2008, thus by John saying the bank will assist the seller by demanding the market pay more than FMV, now the amount due to the 1st would have skyrocketed to $350k, so now seller is even worse off.  This strategy would continue to ensure the blight continues, although John said it would help keep up property values.

 I quess the these people get their economic degrees from the same washroom stall like so many others

 Oh after 42 minutes of me bombarding John at SLS with reason after reason, and some good natured embarrassment, he finally agreed to submit it.  ... We received the Approval 1hr later. 

He was surprised I knew it would get approved, even though it didn't fit into his pre defined box.

 

 George Hantzakos

Short Sales Corp

DAWN COX
Weichert, Realtors - Wayne, NJ
Broker-Salesperson, REALTOR, ABR, SRES, RELO, e-PR
Persistence pays off and, like a true negotiator, never settle for no for an answer!
Oct 10, 2007 04:25 PM
Bill Nazur
First Lending Solutions - Riverside, CA

That is true comedy.....all you could do is laugh....

How fun is it to teach them how to do THEIR job?

Oct 10, 2007 04:28 PM
Sherri Elliott
INTEGRITY TEAM - eXp Realty, LLC - Flower Mound, TX
Good for you! Stick to your guns, and show them the market and you Know what you are talking about! Most banks have no clue what our market is!
Oct 10, 2007 04:30 PM
Ulises Romo
Realty One Group - Phoenix, AZ
Wow thats amazing. Great post.
Oct 10, 2007 04:30 PM
Bob & Carolin Benjamin
Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ
East Phoenix Arizona Homes
Interesting post. Thanks for sharing it.
Oct 10, 2007 04:39 PM
Mike and Dawn Lewis
The Lewis Team at Keller Williams - San Diego, CA
The Lewis Team at Keller Williams in San Diego CA

George,

I hear ya loud and clear. These banks are out of their minds. Check out my post Short Sale Blues.

Mike Lewis 

Oct 10, 2007 05:09 PM
David Dee
RMX REALTY - Alhambra, CA
Real Estate - San Gabriel Valley (L.A.) & N. Orang

George,

Nice post! I understand what you mean. Sometimes banks just don't get it and this makes it into a difficult situation for everyone involved. It's great that you stuck to your ground.

Dave

Oct 10, 2007 08:29 PM
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
It is amazing - you have to wonder if anybody is thinking this thing through - it is very frustrating, working with short sales and I hear hair raising stories more and more often lately!
Oct 11, 2007 06:30 AM
Karen Kruschka
RE/MAX Executives - Woodbridge, VA
- "My Experience Isn't Expensive - It's PRICELESS"
George, I hear these stories several times a week.  Offer comes in on a short sale, but lender says it is way too low.  Months go by, the property goes to foreclosure and then sits on the market for many more months and finally sells for less than the original "short sale offer"  Karen
Oct 11, 2007 06:54 AM