I don't know what is going on at Bank of America, but I have two stories to that are eerily similar. Case number #1:
One short sale was started June 6, 2012. The date is right. It really has been going on a year. It took 3 cases at HUD to finally get the seller out of " loan modification " status and into "short sale." I have had the same buyer for a year. On February 19, 2013 I was delighted to receive the "Welcome to Phase 2" email from Bank of America. Yay!!! We were in the home stretch. Since that date I have gone through 4 negotiators and suffered through a reorganization of the FHA short sale department. I've also received 2 more "Welcome to Phase 2" emails. Apparently Bank of America thinks it is OK to send me multiple requests to update documents and continually "push" the closing back 30 days each month. Hey, Bank of America it is not OK to treat my client like a second class citizen.
I've attempted to open cases at HUD (The National Service Center) and discovered that there definitely is a problem at Bank of America. You see, you can't open a HUD case involving Bank of America until you use the "special" escalation team at Bank of America. You talk to HUD and they transfer you to the "escalation team" at Bank of America. The escalation team transfers you to the Short Sale Department and if you get no resolution, you have to call HUD back with the name and the employee number of the person you spoke to, and then HUD will open a case!!!
Each month the required net changes and I have to redo documents over and over. What is really strange is that I have documents dated from last year (because the negotiator at BOA says to do it that way) for forms that did not exist at Bank of America on June 6, 2012. So, they redo the "Third Party Authorization Form, and you have to update your file using the new form but dating it for a date the new form didn't exist. How does that make any sense? I opened another case at HUD and am waiting on a variance request from Bank of America. I'm hopeful that this file will close in June.
*** UPDATE - 6-18-2013. E-MAIL this morning from negotiator requesting a change that was responded to May 31, 2013. Someone at Bank of America needs to get this done. We accepted the counter offer of the ATP on December 21, 2013. In 6 months I have not gotten an approval letter.
Case #2
Approval to Participate issued November 23, 2012. The first buyer backed out after waiting til the end of February for an approval letter. On March 19, 2013 a cash offer was accepted and sent to Bank of America on March 19, 2013. All required documentation went in at the same time. We are also on our third negotiator. The first negotiator did not understand the tier structure of the ATP and kept asking for an incorrect "Net" The second negotiator became ill and her files sat for the better part of a month. It took using the Social Media Twitter team to get this file assigned to someone who would actually perform their job. I have opened 2 cases at HUD to get this one moving again and now I'm waiting for someone at HUD to call me so we can get somewhere on this file. In early May I received a request from the negotiator to update the documents and push the closing back another 30 days!!! I sent documents on the 12th of May for a closing I scheduled for June 17, 2013. That is a week from today. Last Friday I got another request from the negotiator to "move the closing back another 30 days and to update the documents again." Grrrrrr!!!
Here is where there is a problem. I can't do it. The buyer will walk on June 17 if I can't get them an approval letter. I've notified the negotiator on Friday and I got another request to move this one back again. I have had the required net for 3 months. If I move this back another 30 days the required net will change again and it will have to come from somewhere? Next month it will require a variance to close because I will not take this out of my commission to get to the required net. Today I was sent another form that has been recently modified and I need to again fill out a form that didn't exist when this short sale was started.
Bank of America has a moral and legal obligation to assist the sellers in financial distress. They've been approved to participate. If these deals fall apart I intend to file complaints at HUD for interfering and stalling on these files. There has to be a better way.
***UPDATE - 6-18-2013 This file actually closed yesterday on the very last day of my approval letter which came last Wednesday for a June 17, 2013. Thanks to Miriam of the Social Media Team. @B0fA_help. They can move mountains
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