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Chase Bank to Process Short Sales in Equator But Equator Won't Fix the BPO Problem

By
Real Estate Agent with Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker DRE #00697006

I can hear the high-five slaps now. That's how I felt when I heard Chase Bank was going to Equator, but I had nobody to high-five but my cat. So, I tossed back a shot glass of diet coke, let out a whoop and slapped my desk. As a Sacramento short sale agent who has closed way too many of her fair share of Chase Bank short sales, I can hardly wait for Equator.

Yeah, I know everybody bitches about Chase Bank and short sales. They say Chase Bank takes too long, it loses paperwork, nobody returns calls, and it's a lousy short sale system. I don't disagree with that assessment. Chase is somewhat overwhelmed and understaffed, just like every other short sale bank. I tell buyer's agents it will be a 90-day to 120-day wait for short sale approval if Chase Bank is involved, and I'm usually right on the money. They take forever but a Chase Bank short sale, even a double Chase Bank short sale, will eventually close.

Like I wrote a while back about the worst thing to expect in a Chase Bank short sale, it's the system at fault and not the negotiator. I can't say that Chase Bank short sale negotiators are perky. It's the opposite. Most of them sound like they're dropping percodan. I imagine they are sitting in a small room, maybe 3-feet by 3-feet with a desk and a bare light bulb hanging overhead. This is where they also nap. Are they sleeping or awake when I talk to them? I do not know. Hard to tell.

I have a Sacramento short sale with Chase that was recently approved at an outrageous price. It was approved at this price because I asked the buyer to submit an offer at the preapproved price. It was the only way to get approval. The preapproved price is wrong. The BPO agent royally messed up the BPO. Probably doesn't know the neighborhood or maybe it was some newly licensed agent. But the BPO was off by $20,000.

After short sale approval, we submitted the buyer's appraisal. The appraisal was prepared by a professional and licensed appraiser independently hired by the buyer's bank. The appraisal, as expected, came in $20,000 lower than the approved price. We submitted it and asked for a revised approval letter. The negotiator said the investor rejected the appraisal. What? The appraisal has a case number assigned to it. It means any other FHA buyer for the next 6 months will get this appraisal. To reject the appraisal is to send the file to foreclosure.

Was this a ploy, I asked? Did the investor secretly desire foreclosure? Sometimes banks are paid more by the government to do a foreclosure. Or is the investor accusing of us shenanigans? Is the investor saying we manipulated or fixed the appraisal? Because that assumption would be insulting, grounds for a potential lawsuit, against the Code of Ethics and totally untrue. It's one or the other. So, if it's not because Chase Bank wants to go to foreclosure, then they better order a new BPO pronto and get this closed. I'll stake my reputation on it, I told him. Thankfully, the new BPO is being ordered next week.

Equator will solve the delays for Chase. But it's not gonna get rid of the inept BPO agents. That will continue to plague.

 

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Elizabeth Weintraub is co-partner of Weintraub & Wallace Team of Top Producing Realtors, an author, home buying expert at The Balance, a Land Park resident, and a veteran real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown, Carmichael and East Sacramento, as well as tract homes in Elk Grove, Natomas, Roseville and Lincoln. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put our combined 80 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at RE/MAX Gold. DRE License # 00697006.

Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of RE/MAX Gold. Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice; it could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.

Comments (6)

LaNita Cates
REMAX of Joliet - Joliet, IL

Well, now that a lot of investors are asking the sellers of hardship huge money to just leave and AVOID the short sale, I heard we will be seeing less of them.  It's cheaper for the banks to offer $10K and the homeowner just leave and the bank owns it and it sells as a foreclosure. It's happening a lot in our area.

Mar 03, 2012 11:53 PM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

In your area it might make more sense to do a foreclosure, LaNita, but in Sacramento, banks are coming out ahead by doing a short sale. So they prefer short sales. Sometimes, banks make 30% to 40% more on a short sale in Sacramento over foreclosure. But of course, that is without the government subsidy.

However, I am working on a Chase short sale right now in Sacramento in which Chase is paying the seller $25,000 to do a short sale. Not a foreclosure. A short sale! And the home is worth about $95,000.

Mar 04, 2012 12:03 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

Glad to hear another bank is coming to Equator.  As for the BPO issue, the only thing worse than a BPO way over market value thanks to an inept BPO Agent is getting one that is right on the money and having a Buyer's Agent argue that it's wrong because there's no discount taken into effect for the fact it's a short sale. 

Mar 04, 2012 02:38 AM
Satar Naghshineh
Satar - Amiri Property and Financial Services Corp. - Irvine, CA

I don't know, I personally like Chase. They handle the process much better than most. Somthing they don't tell you is that every negotiator has a personal e-fax. So if you are having issues communicating with your negotiator, try to get the e-fax number. Who knows, maybe I like them because I remember how bad WAMU was!

I was also under the impression that appraisals would have more creedance than their BPO or fair market system. I wonder if you are running into a MI issue.

Here's what I have with Chase:

877-496-3803 - Low level short sale support. They give you bad info about anything pertaining to the short sale of the loan, but will give your client a HAFA package.

866-233-5320 - Once the short sale gets initiated, this department will make sure that all the paperwork has been collected and the BPO and, if need be, the market value report has been ordered.

888-369-2301 - This is where the negotiators will work with you to go over the terms of the short sale and submit the file to the investor for approval. This is just one of many processing centers. From what I understand, they do California loans AND they base approvals on Market value, not NET! Which is awesome!

Mar 04, 2012 05:17 AM
Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

Elizabeth, Wow - this calls for a shot of more than diet coke. Not accepting an appraisal ... good night Irene! I've been successful with getting approvals at an appraised value.  Hopefully, Chase will send a local agent who knows what they are doing to complete the second BPO!  Just another glorious day in the life of a Sacramento Short Sale Agent!

Mar 04, 2012 08:05 AM
DeeDee Riley
Lyon Real Estate - El Dorado Hills CA - El Dorado Hills, CA
Realtor - El Dorado Hills & the Surrounding Areas

Elizabeth,

Your posts always make me chuckle.  Not because of the ridiculous short sale things going on but because of your great sense of humor, probably mandatory when dealing with as many short sales as you do! Regardless though, I love it!  On another note, you could not pay me to do BPO's.  I did one and it was not worth the $40 I received for doing it.  I'll hope you get a better BPO agent this time around!

Happy Sunday!

Mar 04, 2012 08:49 AM