Countrywide Update! Short Sale Data

This explains why it is so difficult to get an answer and why it takes so long for them to respond.

Hey Frank is that your maserati sitting in front of all pro's???

Frank, any update on the numbers now that May has passed and they were forecasting 500 by now??

Countrywide- had one in the pipeline since March 08. They communicated to me and the seller and the attorney that this should go through no problem. Last week, they declined the offer on the phone and the seller got a letter in the mail with no explanation!

So now what?

Guess what everyone..this is what happens when the market does a 180 degree in a year. It will take awhile, but hopefully we will get more staffing support with the BofA buyout. Sorry...Im sure we are doing the best. And like many stated...we are NOT doing anything on the side...we are just overwhelmed!!! DON'T blame us because we are the biggest!

Christina:  It's not that you are the biggest....it's that you made the WORST loans...that's why we get testy!  The worst customer service to accompany default on impossible loans is not surprising.

Although it is taking forever..I have actually found the customer service of the part of Country Wide to be pretty good. I am sure they are overwelmed and over worked.... a little friendly voice instead of screaming at them for info can't hurt the process.

Although it is taking forever..I have actually found the customer service of the part of Country Wide to be pretty good. I am sure they are overwelmed and over worked.... a little friendly voice instead of screaming at them for info can't hurt the process.

I always try to joke with the people I get on the phone at Countrywide, but even I lost it yesterday (in a calm, nice way), when the FOURTH person I got on the phone basically told me she could do nothing, even though the negotiator hadn't noted anything on the file in over a month...

Does anyone have any good experiences to share about working with CW loss mitigation? I know many homeowners and investors who are not yet in arrears on their mortgages, but will be soon. Everyone says "call your lender before you get in trouble". Has this worked for anyone yet w/CW? Is there any real benefit in an early contact?

Wow, I've got one with Countrywide, and I'm thinking of having a negotiator take over and do this for me.  Wonder if anyone else has done this?

That is an unbelievable amount of bad loans.  I have dealt with Countrywide sucessfully and I can't imagine the nightmare they are going thru!

On 8/30 on this site I asked for feedback from anyone who has had good experiences with CW. No one has responded so far. This means to me that CW ( and other lenders) is dropping the ball. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to wake them up? It is not good enought to say that they are swamped -- it's got going to get any better, so somehow, someway, pressure needs to be exerted before home prices go any lower. If some deals could get done then the backlog would be reduced. That would benefit everyone, including CW.

Countrywide is by far the WORST BANK TO WORK WITH FOR SHORT SALES. Early this year we closed a few with them but since then it has been one headache after another. And just so you know, this is coming from someone who is ranked #4 out of our entire MLS for closing short sales. I am so sick of Countrywide's short sale process. If you can even call it a process.

They say everything is fine and to call back in 30 days, 30 days, 30 days. For negotiator, 30 days, for bpo, 30 days, for answer 30 days, before you know it 3 months are gone and the buyer has walked. You then get a call several months late wondered whey WE dropped the ball. Or you get a call saying they'll approve it if you get 100 more documents to them by tomorrow and only then. Or else it will be denied.

The newest: THEY WILL NOT ALLOW FOR ANY SELLER CONTRIBUTIONS FOR BUYER CLOSING COSTS FOR THE BUYER TO BE PAID BY THE SELLER.

THEY WILL DENY ANY HOME THAT WAS VACATED OR RENTED OUT FOR ANY REASON THAT WAS NOT "COMPLETELY UNAVOIDABLE"

What I don't understand is why do they have so many people working in the short sale department if they don't really want to handle short sales?

The last time I spoke to a CWide manager, they were indeed over 500 short sale requests per day and very, very slow responding to offers. But, short sales with CWide are still possible..we closed one last month in less than 45 days!

Countrywide, or anyone else for that matter has no right to interfere in the contractual arrangements (eg. commission amounts or splits) between the listing agent and the selling agent. If you allow it, your get what you deserve. the CW negotiators' job is to sqeeze you for anything they can get. One of their most effective negotiating tactics is to create confusion and delay. Your most effective negotiating tactic is to be ready to walk away from the deal. If enough of us actually walk away, the CW guys would quit all the foolishness. In any negotiation, the one who cares the least, wins.

Those of us who do short sales need to be upfront about the fact that we are doing this to earn a commission, not to rescue CW. We would not be willing to work so hard on these deals if we thought we would not get paid. And the negotiators understand that most buyers are trying to get the absolute bottom cost when buying a house. It is not usefull to take it personally when you get out negotiated.

Frank thanks for the short, concise and helpful information. We deal with CW a lot and most of the agents that we help close deals with are sick of them.

Appreciate that people in this community are helping eachother out, including you.

To your success!

Tracy Venezia-Royce

Live Free Investment Group

602-957-7773

Tracy@livefreeinvestmentgroup.com

They are taking 30 days to assign negotiators at this time. Countrywide is overwhelmed and was not prepared to handle this type of volume.

All I can say is that this is unbelievable. All those homes and all those buyers and you can't get anyone to even call you back.

These numbers make it easier to understand why there is such a wait.  Why do the lenders expect the Buyers to wait?  Margaret C.