You'd think after 13 years of working short sales, watching the industry evolve a bit, that we'd have a brightening picture when it comes to communication, time frames, approvals, etc. However... I'm not finding that to be the case. When I did my first short sales years ago, I'd have to fight constantly for my commission, have to have the same conversation over and over, but I actually had a person I could reach on the other end of the phone, someone for whom you could leave messages, someone to whom you could even send an email. Now, that's not always true. Newer systems like Equator allow some of the companies to hide behind walls to a certain extent. That's not to say that some companies or at least some negotiators, don't work very well with systems like Equator, but many inefficient or at least untrained people are working in those gate-keeper positions.
I'm on my second in a row short sales with Chase, having the same problems with lack of communication. I send the information in and wait for someone to be assigned. Someone is assigned and I try to reach them. They're not in but someone else answers the phone. I can't leave a message for the person with whom I should be talking, can't talk to a supervisor, can't do much more than vent to the person who was fortunate (ha ha) enough to have gotten me on the other end, and am hopefully offered the chance for them to email the person with whom I want to talk. Today, for example, the processor I need to talk to wasn't in... hasn't been in in three days... not sure when she will be in. If I call tomorrow and she's not there, the best I can do is leave the same message. Their escalation department? No help. All they can do is look at the file but they can't escalate anything.
How I WISH that we could have a forum of Realtors and negotiators who are processing short sales, along with representatives from the various mortgage companies so that we could devise systems that actually work. What a concept!
So for now, the best I can do is educate my clients and my co-brokes and hopefully prepare them for the road ahead, even if I can't see which way it's going.
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