Quite honestly, we think the level of service provided by most of the large national lenders on short sale transactions has actually improved pretty significantly over the past 12 months. The same can't be said for the regional lenders in our area who we feel are the hardest to deal with and have the slowest response times.  An agent with the proper experience handling short sale transactions can overcome many of the shortcomings the loan servicers have.

Realtors Increasingly Dissatisfied with Servicers Regarding Short Sales

Realtors continue to be dissatisfied with short-sale transactions, with 77 percent categorizing short sales as “difficult” or “extremely difficult” according to the California Association of Realtors’ (CAR) member survey.

The latest assessment, conducted in June, shows an increase of 7 percent from the previous survey conducted in December 2010. The survey measures CAR members’ satisfaction with lenders in their most recent transaction. Overall, 75 percent of Realtors were “not satisfied” or “not at all satisfied” with their interaction with lenders and servicers, up from 67 percent in December 2010.  According to the survey, communication was the source of much of the dissatisfaction.  Slow responses to short-sale packages was a concern among 66 percent of Realtors.

Other concerns included “poor communication with lender representatives,” which was noted by 55 percent of respondents, and “repeated requests for documentation,” which was noted by 51 percent of respondents.  Forty-three percent of Realtors said lenders took more than five days to return communications, and fewer than 20 percent reported that lenders responded to them in one business day or less.

Furthermore, 67 percent of Realtors said the lender or servicer they worked with took more than 60 days to respond to a short-sale proposal.  More than 15 percent of respondents to the survey reported that the lender foreclosed on the house before a short sale could be completed.

“With short sales accounting for a fifth of all transactions in California, it’s crucial that lenders improve their short-sale process so that a meaningful recovery in the housing market and overall economy can occur,” said CAR president Beth L. Peerce.

In addition to the survey, CAR conducted an online poll to determine which of the nation’s top four lenders was the easiest to work with, according to its members.

With 40 percent of votes, Wells Fargo fared the best, followed by Bank of America with 23 percent, JPMorgan Chase with 17 percent, and Citi with 11 percent.

Fannie Mae has introduced the Short Sale Assistance Desk, a program that allows real estate agents direct access to Fannie to obtain short sale approval.  The Five Star Institute recently announced a partnership with Fannie Mae to provide training for the program. For more information, read the article published Wednesday.