Short-sale woes....

By
Real Estate Agent with ERA Brokers Consolidated / Cox Magnesen Team

Our team is currently working on getting approval on a short-sale where 1st and 2nd lienholders are different banks.  Bank of America (B of A) recently assigned a loss mitigator, who, bless her heart, must be suffering from a prolonged case of laryngitis because she has yet to communicate with us after several calls (and faxes).  The loss mitigator for the 2nd lienholder has communicated very well (hats off thus far to Wash. Mutual - hopefully it will continue....)

The hardest part of the short-sale, its said, is just wading your way through the layers of communicative barriers and red-tape to get the actual loss mitigator on the phone.  That's why I was overjoyed, albeit briefly, when I received something from B of A that would revolutionize this ugly process -- the GOLDEN TICKET of short-sales -- the ACTUAL phone # to loss mitigator assigned to the file.  Of course, I called the number immediately and bowed my head in quiet reverence and got all misty-eyed just to be able to hear the message that the voice mail box for this particular loss mitigator....was (gulp).... full.  I mentioned this joy was brief -- yeah, that's because B of A had that phone number disconnected the next day.

So, its back to the drawing-board.....more phone calls to the loss mitigation department, more waiting on hold for up to TWO HOURS to merely get B of A to pick up the phone.  If only there were some way that a bank like B of A might better facilitate communication between a loss mitigator and an agent who is trying to help get a home heading to foreclosure sold and out of the foreclosure pipeline.....if only we could just get them to communicate a little more efficiently and try this new, FREE, invention called e-mail.....we might make some progress on getting some of these short-sales closed quicker and save our neighborhoods from the blight of foreclosures.

Comments (3)

Goodbye Active Rain
Out of Real Estate

Doug,

Are you the person that is physically doing the short sale?  If not, they will not talk to you unless you have a signed Authorization to Release Information between you and the seller.  If you are an agent, best of luck.

Dec 16, 2008 10:37 AM
Alan Brown
Coldwell Banker Realty - Davenport, FL
32 Years of Real Estate Experience .

Good Luck...The banks are not very organized when it comes to Short Sales. There is to much time involved investigating the sellers circumstances and the real value of the property so that the banks don't feel like someone is trying to pull one over on them that I truely believe it is less paperwork and less headache for the banks when they let the home get foreclosed on. Since they hire Attorneys to do all the foreclosure paperwork. Once the bank has it back in their name it is far easier for them to deal with.

Dec 16, 2008 10:45 AM
Bob & Carolin Benjamin
Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ
East Phoenix Arizona Homes

Yes, as the comment above said - you need to be authorized to speak to them. And no , they are not very organized. Multiple what you said about phone calls -- lack of phone calls being returned and multiple it for 9 months . Never expect that anyone will ever return a phone call . All the best. Are you having fun yet? :-)

Dec 16, 2008 03:12 PM