Short Sales - the Bank's Perspective

Tina, with all due respect, that sounds exactly like the bank we are dealing with.  FYI, Wells Fargo for one WILL NOT accept an overnight package, been there done that.  Even had the package signed for and they still claimed they did not recieve it. They even asked me why I sent it overnight after THEY told me to.  As far as nasty people on the phone, it works both ways.  I have talked to some of the nastiest people on the phone, it is always the "order takers" and very seldom the negotiator.  I always start the conversation with trying to be very polite and don't ever insult and it still does not work. 

The problem lies in the systems that the banks have, or in most cases, do not have in place.  Losing faxes is NOT acceptable, they don't lose any payments that get sent in do they?

Hi Tina,

Thanks for your response...but I'll tell you a few other things...we always send both by fax as well by mail even if they won't accept it. We also wait about 48 hrs to confirm it in their system. The funny thing was the 2nd negotiator in this case even felt bad because of what we went through...now we had to help them because they did a software conversion and everything was all ove the place...we spent an hour helping them put all the files together. But unfortunately it was a little too late.

I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't have much of a problem in the mail room if they were waiting for the big fat check from the HO who is sending their mortgage payment...they probably won't lose that as frequently but it's a two way street. They got their hands caught in the cookie jar and now won't take responsibility.

The problem is they have had more than enough time time reorganize and hire a few competent people so I still think that isn't a good enough excuse. We had to literally interrogatea person on the phone to get them to admit that the reason why our first negotiator never responded to us after waiting 30 days from the appraisal was because they just quit...no calls no nothing...we had to find out the hard way and that is simply not right no matter the case. I just think that if they continually are going to make it impossible even after we do everything to cooperate and make it convenient for them that they might as well just say at the beginningthat the file has no chance of making it...kind of like putting the animal out of its misery before the pain gets unbearable.

I also must say that although there are guidelines...they aren't always met as far as the type of loan or the amount owed is way too much...I've seen deals that wouldn't ever fit the MO to be a successful short close that have closed...as much as 150-250K uo side down yet the bank approved it so I don't believe the part about it not qualifying...maybe before but not any more.

Whether or not they are losing money...if they would look at the whole picture...it might be better off just taking the loss and starting over even if its such a high loss. Also the banks are regretting the fact that they need us but are unwilling to cooperate and even pay us a figure. Besides the HO's losing their home...we as Realtors are taking a chance by working for nothing but hoping for something in return so they can listen to my violin on that one.

I just wish the government would do something like make it mandatory for them to reach deadlines instead of worrying so much about buying back bad loans yet they still have no compassion.

Thanks

Neal and I think very much alike.......Neal, are you sure that we are not working the same short sales?  I agree that the government would be much better off passing legislation to regulate the short sales, it will save the homeowner and the lender valuable resources.

As far as why do I negotiate the short sale?  Well, I feel that it is my responsibilty to my seller since I took the short sale listing.  My E&O does cover this type of transaction and I always disclose and tell the seller that they need to consult with their attorney and accountant BEFORE making a decision.

Tina,

Great post.

The one thing that I will add that will help anyone with short sales it when you call the customer service people in Loss Mitigation, setup or any dept., be friendly with them. After all, all they have been doing for the last 8 hours is listening to Realtors and Homeowners complain to them. Just remember that they are the middle man in the whole thing, but it you treat them how you would treat your mother, you will be amazed at how much easier the process becomes. Also, by being nice, you can gather information about who the decision makers are and how to get a hold of them DIRECTLY. Just keep this in mind, No Good Deed Goes Unnoticed.

Jill and Terry,

Sorry but we are always nice to any person on the phone...I don't care if it's loss mitigation or...triage...or a supervisor. As a matter of fact..until they came back 4 months later to tell us to just go sell it to someone else...then I said something. But all bets are off when you get stupid people with no consideration... who have no ides what they are doing....don't return your cordial phone calls or even can't seem to stop losing all the paperwork you send them both via fax and registered mail....does this mean I should just keep being nice? How long do I keep being nice after the buyer walks and leaves the seller with an attorney licking their chops waiting to collect? I wish you would tell me which bank you are working with that are so nice and cooperative because I'll trade you the 4 others I'm working with.

The only way to keep a short sale from falling apart to soon is the time....if you keep losing time because the lender just can't seem to get it then you might as well pack it in now...I'd rather they just tell us that they won't approve it early on...but they can't seem to even do that right.

Why wouldn't we want to be nice? After all I want to have a pleasant transaction so there is no use in starting it off on a bad or negative note so I agree with what you are saying but 9 out of 10 times it doesn't work with a robot.

Agail Neal, are you sure we are not working the same transaction?  I too am always nice, ask them how they are, how is the weather, I know you are busy I won't take much of your time, etc. 

They can make every excuse in the book but it boils down to thier systems and their lack of knowledge and many times their hate for their job.   I actually had one person from a large lender tell me, Sir, I am sorry, we did not recieve your 34 page fax.   The funny part is that I did not tell her how many pages the fax was that I sent (7 times) because they never could find it.  It was 34 pages, imagine that!  I called back the next day and a very pleasant lady told me that it was recieved 3 weeks before that.  
I can not believe the number of companies who still use the old fax machines with PAPER.  There are so many digital faxes out there now, there is no excuse for old technology.   Having an email address to send these to would be even better. The only problem is that we can track that and they won't want us to be able to do that. 

Jeff and anyone else who cares,

Just so the world knows...I just received an email ....great news...we now lost buyer number 2...we just lost two buyers with 40% with the same bank and 50% down because of their lack of effort and their total stupidity...so let me ask everyone a question now...should we still be nice? Should we use a law as the excuse? So should I just let my clients die in foreclosure now...I'm playing my violin now. Maybe I should send all the lovely people at the bank a new toaster or a gift basket.

Neal, just so you know, I DO CARE.  I know what you are going through but I am saddened by what your homeowners are going through.  Would it be slanderous to name the lender? 

Keep fighting!!!!!!!!

I would like to see a "third party" streamlined process for short sale transactions.  Local, independent, and with the authority to make quick decisions.  Won't happen, but that's my 2 cents.

Jeff, I think that the lender should be named and shamed.

Rich, that's a great idea, you are right it won't happen, but it's a great idea.

Jeff, there is another option for you seller.  You can hire a company to review the HUD and challenge it for inconsistancies and pretadory lending clauses.  Since there are often discrepancies on the HUD, these attorney based companies can often force banks to modify, accept a short sale and even keep the homeowner in their home for months.  Give me a shout and I can refer you to a few reputable companies.  It may be worth a shot at this point.

There is one that I would love to name and I am sure that the horror stories would come rolling in.  Hate to name names but their carriage is drawn by a team of horses

Doesn't suprise me, Wells is the most Arrogant bank out there.  I hear it over and over!  But then again they are buying other banks and holding their ground in this debacle!

Certainly customer service is not a priority with bank!

Had to pipe in on this one...WF killed a deal of mine at the eleventh hour and my Lender is in the process of saving it.  I've never seen such incompetence in all my life. What stories I could tell...

All I can tell you it ain't Wells...we only have a flicker of light left and tomorrow the flame might go out.

WOW......alot of information here!  Thanks for all you've put into it.  I would like to ask if you have any "specific" information pertaining to us, here in Hampton Roads, as far as some of the things that you mentioned that vary from state to state.  I have a listing now that I have as a short sale and I feel like dumpimg it after reading some of this. I've tried to get as educated as possible on all of this, but I don't know if it's worth all the stress of losing your license over. I always try and do the right thing, but this all sounds like you can be doing what you think is "the right thing" and still get hung out to dry.  Maybe I need to turn it over to someone that is more experienced in this.

I may be reading this way later than it was posted, but there is a lot of things to think about from this post.

Not much has changed in the past 2 years. Still a lot of agents and consumers who need this information. Glad to find it in the archive.