Keeping Sacramento Short Sale Listings Secure...the lender may do it for you!!

Every other week or so, I will receive a call from the representative of a loan servicer, or 3rd party contractor informing me they have been ordered to "secure" one of my short sale listings. Huh??

There are many loan servicers (like CitiMortgage, GMAC, Homecomings, Bank of America/Countrywide) that send representatives around to properties in default or with past due balances that make sure their "assets" (aka, properties their loans are on) are in decent condition and that they are properly secured. Often times if it is discovered that a property is vacant, or not properly secured, the loan servicer take it upon itself to make sure the physical integrity of the "asset" is not compromised.

Erin, what the heck does that mean? That means that occasionally I will receive a call that there has been an order to change the locks on one of my listings...however often it does not stop there. I have received calls that there are orders to drain full and functioning swimming pools, board-up functional windows, board up functional doors, padlock electrical panels, shut-off water, remove functional structures in the backyard (like a really nice Tuff Shed in one case), etc. In the instances I get an advanced warning of something like this, I have been able to convince the loan servicing folks that the action was not necessary.

The really lame part is the occasionally I will not be given an advanced warning, or the heads-up call goes to the seller directly and they ignore the call thinking it is a collection call...and the work is then performed without my knowledge or the knowledge of the seller. I have received some really angry calls from other agents trying to show my short sale listings only to find the keys in the lockbox do not fit the locks on the doors. In one instance, I had short sale approval from the lender, and the buyer went to the property to do a home inspection and caught the lender rep in the middle of draining the swimming pool. UGH.

The first time this happened about a 18 months ago, I was definitely taken by surprise. I have come to realize that it only makes sense that the bank wants to make sure that its "asset" does not fall into disrepair or is not vandalized. If you have ever looked at bank owned property for sale you will know this happens more often than anyone would like. Now it is something I prep my short sale sellers for in the event they are contacted by the loan servicer regarding this.