The other day one of my very good friends, who is a busy short sale listing agent, was stewing because his short sale was taking what he felt to be an inordinate amount of time. He’s done lots of short sales, and his theory was that this one shouldn’t take so long because there are now fewer short sales than there were two years ago. And, since there are fewer short sales, the banks should be moving more quickly.
It’s a good theory, but the truth is that the same kinds of issues and problems that arose two years ago, are still problems faced by short sale agents and negotiators in 2013. While this particular short sale that my friend was complaining about is not associated with Bank of America, Bank of America has recently issue the following information via email as to how to best address an issue that short sale agents feel needs to be escalated.
Follow these Steps for Bank of America Short Sales Escalation (information courtesy of Bank of America)
- Notify Your Short Sale Specialist. Your short sale specialist can resolve most issues that occur during the short sale process. Simply send a message from Equator to your short sale specialist by selecting "negotiator" (or "closing officer") from the drop-down menu in the "To" field and provide the details of the issue. Within two business days, you should receive a response. You can also contact your short sale specialist at the phone number previously provided to you and your client. If you have not received a response after two business days, or if the short sale specialist cannot resolve your issue, then go to step two.
- Notify The Short Sale Team Lead. In those cases where your short sale specialist has not responded, you can contact the Short Sale Team Lead by sending a message from Equator. Select "Team Lead" from the drop-down menu in the "To" field and provide the details of the issue. Within two business days, you should receive a response from the Short Sale Team Lead. In those rare cases where you have not received an answer from the Short Sale Team Lead, or the team lead cannot resolve your issue, then go to step three.
- Contact Short Sale Customer/Agent Care. To escalate the unresolved issue, call 1.866.880.1232 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern and provide the details to the short sale representative. Customer/Agent Care monitors the response rates for Equator messaging and will provide the best escalation option for your issue. They will ensure the escalation process is followed and tracked.
While many agents hem and haw about short sales, it’s nice to know that Bank of America is spreading the word about how to get these things through the system quickly and efficiency. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I’d say that’s something to be thankful for.
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