Has Your Short Sale been Accepted??!! Please Let Me Know!

I've done two short sales and both were l-o-n-g waiting periods. Once you jump through one hoop, they give you another hoop.  The process took 4 months with the the first (Bank of America)- 40% discount)  and the second short sale took 2 1/2 months. (I can't remember the lender fo the second.)

I have heard of lenders like Country Wide having some kind of express path loss mitigation process to get them accepted ASAP.

As far as the length of time the sellers had the note--my first short sale-the sellers had the note for 2 years. I don't know about the second because I represented the buyer.

You are probably right about lenders not accepting short sales when the sellers have only had the note 3-6 months.

In the past two weeks, I've had two shorts approved. 

#1. about $700,000 owed, contract price $610,000, net proceeds to lender of about $570,00 

#2. 1st and 2nd (same lender) owed about $350,000.  COS $287,500. The second agreed to accept zero, the first $266,000

Deal #1 was a first payment default  on a new home and in my opinion reeking of fraud from the word go.

The sellers, again in my opinion, didn't deserve the effort I put forth because I could have been helping a family who really needed the help.  But, as a hired gun, I have to accept the cases which land on my desk.

Prequalifying the short sale candidate for suitability is an essential component in a successful sale.  You really have to go to bat for the seller... but if you don't believe in their sincerity it can make you feel like a whore.

I have had approval on 2 this week and its only Thursady.

The Key is getting the information to the bank in a format that they can use ... you have to think like the Bank to win.. and yes the bank net has has been around 70%

Getting the written approval is half the battle.  The devil is in the detail. Before you advise parties an approval is forthcoming.... get the approval in writing and read it twice.  Resist the temptation to give the anxious parties a premature promise before making certain the seller will agree to proceed.  For the deal to proceed, the seller must agree with the terms.. even if terms appear unfair.  This is where your salesmanship and command of the 'process' will pay dividends. 

The worst thing you can do is present the 'approval' and be unable to answer the seller's questions....

Q.  "Why am I still responsible for the debt?  You said I'd be able to walk away!"  Or, Q. "Whaddya mean I'll get a 1099 and have to pay taxes?"   Or, Q. "Close in 30 days?  Where will we go?"

I just closed a deal on Friday and it was about $52,000 Short both mortgages, the Offer was written Early November.  Chase was the 1st and Homecomings was the 2nd, the hardship was they borrowed against their home for a business that went under. I just kept calling and calling it was a very tough deal but it was done timely suprisingly.I think persistance is the key.  I only had the home listed since October 1st.

Donna I just sold one.  The bank was Taylor Bean & Whitaker, they took at 30% reduction, the owner had the note for 2 years, they defaulted because the husband got hurt at work and had to have several operations and the wife had a baby, the whole process took about 3 months.  Good luck

Melonie Haag

Me and my team have done numerous Short Sales and seem to come out pretty successful.  Although each one is different and can vary on the time it takes because of the banks work load.  We have found that the worst lender to work with would be Greenpoint, and its funny because I did one with EMC, and it couldn't be any smoother.  So I'm sorry for all that hate EMC.  It seems to be that Countrywide is the busiest, because they are taking the longest!!  We find that if a lender has both loans it is much easier because they just give their 2nd a 1k payoff.  Then we have also found that we have been able to negotiate all of our 2nd mortgages down to .10 on the dollar owed.  Most of our sellers have their own business's that flop, and have owned the property for about a year.

Have a happy New Year!!

Jeremy Eide

The Keutla Team

I just took a listing on a short sale with HSBC Mortgage Services not to be confused with HSBC Mortgage. I guess they had some sort of split sometime back. As it turns out, HSBC Mortgage was really easy to get a hold of and seemed like they would be easy to deal with. Unfortunately I had the wrong people. HSBC Mortgage Services is extremely hard to get a hold of even if you have the right number and they want zero conversation with you until you have a written offer on the table. I asked their parameters and he said "just sell it for a fair market value".  He would not even send me a package until I have the offer.

He did say that once they had the offer and the information they request, they would have it processed in 10-14 days. My seller was willing to sign a promissary note to try and preserve the credit but these folks said they had no methodology for that. They just write off the shortfall and turn their collection department loose on the seller to try and recoup the loss in whatever fashion they can.

His superiors are telling him the short sale business should be booming in 2008 and would probably start slowing in 09.

Bob Winney - Overland Park, KS

1) Which Bank accepted the short sale: Countrywide Home Loans

2) How much of a discount did they take: 2nd Deed was $174,000; they accepted $4,975.68

3) How long had did the home owner have the note before they defaulted; Note dated 8/1/06; default about one year later

4) What was the reason for the hardship; unplanned child, bought new bigger home but couldn't sell old home (i.e. this short sale) in declining market

5) How long did the process take (once you had the offer to the date the bank accepted); offer dated Oct 22, 2007, with short-sale approval issued Dec 21, 2006

As others have noted, persistent follow-up is extremely important.  If you're told to call back in a week, call back in two days.  If told to call back in two days, call back in one.  ALWAYS be polite to the other person on the phone -- they can't do anything about the fact that you were in the phone queue for 30 minutes. 

I also make sure that I am point of contact for all BPO and appraisal activity.  Always be present for the valuation analysis, make sure you have solid, appropriate comps, point out the 'problems' with the home and let them know what you've done to obtain a fair market price.  It may not change anything with their valuation, but better to be there to make sure they understand the property fully and why your price is what it is.