COUNTRYWIDE BANK IS A HUGE PAIN - CA SHORT SALE REALTOR

Negotiators are a revolving door at CW.

That's good info to know. Thanks.

Ann:

A friend of mine is doing a short sale, that is heading for default with CountryWide, she has had six negotiators and cannot get the HOA fees waived because Wells Fargo will not paid HOA fees. Her commission has been reduced and she has been working on this sale for almost three months. Everyday she has something new to contend with, there has been three buyers that have gone through the process and the first two backed out and the third is hanging in but who knows for how long.

I total agree .. I had a bpo that listed the house about 50K above the market value.. why the BPO did not show the mold in the basement nor the smaller then average bedroom and the fact that is read a 4 bedroom in the tax records when in fact it is 3 with an unfinished bonus room.. when will they learn to trust us

Ann,

Who did you hear this from?  Is it one loss mitigation or customer service rep, or several?  Are you experiencing this on 1st lien situations, or when they only hold the 2nd lien? Our national team is working several with CW at the moment and we're tracking their efforts.

Thanks

Ann,

We are in communication with the US Treasury, who can influence a lot of what at least 10 national lending institutions do and how they function within their loss mitigation departments.  In truth, the Agents are too busy blaming the Lenders and the Lenders are too busy blaming the Agents and no one is doing much about it...but, we're trying!  We have a national training program that completely changes the perspective of the Rel Estate Agent working a Short Sale transaction and we're moving forward with NAR and several national brokerages, including Re/Max, to create a strategic alliance in training Agents to effectively navigate their Short Sale transactions.  Did you realize that most Agents think they only control 25% of the outcome of their Short Sale transaction, when, in fact, they can actually take control of up to 85%?  Did you realize that most Agents average 27-30 hours in each of their Short Sale transactions?  Did you realize that most Agents are working for pennies on the dollar in their Short Sale transactions because they are too busy working "in" their transactions, verses "on" their transactions and their Shot Sale business?  It's no wonder that Agents are not wanting to work Short Sales.  They think they're too difficult, partly because they heard from another Agent in their office that Short Sales are too difficult and that you never get paid your full commission.  Did you realize that one of the biggest reasons why Agents lose their commissions is because they don't know the expected Lender net thresholds according to the type of loan they're shorting, prior to even getting the bank involved?

We've seen many of your threads on Short Sales and we're always interested in how your Short Sale business is going.  It's obvious that, due to the lack of good substantive formal Short Sale education for Real Estate Agents on the market, Agents are unknowingly making mistakes in their Short Sales and are getting a bad taste in their mouth about them.  Yes, some of the Lenders are also a big pain in the ________!  Please let us know more of the outcomes of your Short Sales, as we will be communicating to key officials what Agents are experiencing with the various Lenders.  Also, when you get a chance, take our new online course at www.ShortSaleSolutions.biz.  It's only $39 and is guaranteed to take even the expert Short Sale Agent and give them a few key tips that will change the way they navigate their transactions, thus increasing their closing ratios and reducing the "drama" and frustrations normally experienced in Short Sales.

Thanks!

Anyone wonder why many agents refuse to show short sales?  I am been involved in several that by the time I found my buyers another home and walked away, I was ready to light my hair on fire.  Good luck to those with the patience...

Amen Ann.  I am working with several Countrywide short sale files right now, and all of them have been completely mismanaged in my opinion.  I just blogged the other day that one short sale with them suffered 5.5 months and went through 14 negotiators.  LAME.

I have seen more bad press with short sales then good.  I would avoid them if possible.

You're not alone w/the Countrywide nightmare! I'm currently in a situation that's encountered way too many hiccups! It is frustrating because I think with all the mortgage/lender hoopla they now have much stricter guidelines & it creates serious delays.

Just a note:  If you stop working Short Sales and continue to blame the lenders, our Buyer market in 3-5 years could potentially dry up.  We have consulted with the owners of many top brokerages, including Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, and Re/Max, across the US and they all agree that they have never considered what could exist in a few years and that avoiding Short Sales could radically changed how many Agents actually can survive in this business 3-5 years from now.  The statistics are staggering.  1 in 5 listings are a Short Sale across America.  Avoiding a Short Sale and allowing a Seller to go to foreclosure means they they can't buy in another 5-7 years, in most cases.  Many brokerages that we are working with are requiring that their Agents take a different perspective on the importance of really good, quality, substantive Short Sale education.  The sad thing is that there has been so much bad Short Sale education out there, that many, many Agents are so disillusioned about the truth behind working the Short Sale transaction and they will never work another one again!  If you do not properly educate yourself about how to effectively facilitate the Short Sale transaction, before you get the Lender involved, which is key, you will run the risk of the Lender controlling upwards of 75% of your transaction, which is extremely risky.  If this is the case, it is almost guaranteed you will lose your commission, or may have a dead deal all together, due to unnecessary time delays, etc.  We can guarantee that you have heard another Agent in your office say to never work a Short Sale.  In most cases, they have lost their commission because of something they didn't even realize they did, and it wasn't even the Lender's fault.

Here's the bottom line.  Most Real Estate Agents are so busy working "in" their business, that they never have the clarity to see how and why they're doing something wrong (or right!) in their business.  Agents who get the right education explaining the actual nuts and bolts of navigating the Short Sale transaction, either from a Listing, or a Buyer's Agent perspective, can prevent so many of the obvious and unnecessary obstacles and frustrations from occurring in their Short Sales, guaranteed, because NAR and many other national brokerages are a witness to increased closing ratios and full commissions being paid as a result of education that comes from Agents that have already made all the mistakes and lost all the commissions.

From one Realtor to another, please consider our educational resources and we will guarantee your future success in Short Sales.  Just give our online course a try and we will guarantee that you will view Short Sales much differently than you currently see or hear about them.  In fact, continue to let all the other Agents in your office talk bad about Short Sales,  because the one that is receiving the referrals from those Agents is doing the best and is the highest achiever!

Michael Spickes

America's Home Rescue

Speaker ~ 2008 NAR National Conference in Orlando

Ann,

This whole mortgage crisis has got to be so frustrating for the real estate agents!  I like the advise you're getting from Michael Spickes, it sounds like someone is making the effort to turn this thing around.  If I ere an agent, I would be taking his course. It's time to stop the wining...The banks and mortgage brokers need to stop trying to point the finger and start working together to get us out of this mess.