Short Sale Report

A new angle. We hear that American Home Mortgage has implemented a short sale administration fee of 1% of the purchase price that is charged to the buyers for processing the short sale. The fee is over and above the amount of the total sales price. So, it likely goes to the servicer, and not the investor. The problem is that it probably can’t be financed, and it is probably not an allowable buyer expense on an FHA financed transaction.
Communication is inconsistent. Sometimes it will be good and other times it will be poor. Make sure you read your approvals carefully. We have heard that they have added a $5,000 closing cost fee to the approval that was not mentioned on any previous documents.
They also now handle the Option One portfolio.
You can find them by going to www.ahmsi3.com or you can call their home retention team at 877-304-3100
Contact Info: Loss Mit Dept
Phone:(800) 648-9605 or 
(888) 275-2648 or 877-304-3100
Fax: (949) 790-8545
https://ahmsi3.com/servicing/hasp.asp (direct link to required docs and checklists)

1sts - BofA's adoption of the Equator platform for short sale processing saves time. We hear that this is cutting 2-3 weeks off of the process. The biggest advantage is that all documents will be date and time stamped which will eliminate the need to resubmit lost documents. It is very frustrating when the short sale is declined and the reason is "other". The use of the Equator system is a step in the right direction. You will still need to open all files with the loss mitigation department and be referred to the Short Sale Support department. They will not be accepting fax or email documents. You will still need an authorization letter so contrary to what you may have heard you will still need to contact them before sending in any documents. They do require the homeowner to post info to the site which can be difficult for some owners. Sellers and agents have different logins. Agents should get their sellers login information to make sure that the seller docs are uploaded properly.
Equator TIPS: make sure you do not miss any deadlines for your tasks or you will have to start the process all over. Even if there are no changes make sure you respond even if you have talked to someone on the phone. Also, when responding to a counter offer ALWAYS check the commission. We hear that is does not always auto populate from a previous offer and may default to 5%.
There are different rules for Fannie and Freddie loans. They did just announce on 6/1/10 that they are going to be participating in the HAFA program starting 8/1/10. (To check to see if your loan is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac go to www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup or
www.freddiemac.com/mymortgage) If the loan is a Fannie or Freddie loan be prepared to have 2 BPO requests. One order by BofA and one order by Fannie/Freddie. We have also been told that Freddie has amended the approval and requested more money when they have reviewed the file.
Short Sale file handling is fast when the loan was originated through Bank of America. If you have a Countrywide loan expect the process to take over 13 months to close on average. Normally not flexible when homeowner hardship is unique.  We hear that they operate very much like the big bank they are - cumbersome policies that are slow to change.
If you get a good negotiator they are worth their weight in gold since there are numerous tasks in Equator that they need to complete to keep the process flowing. Although there are files being approved and closing it is usually out of desperation on the part of the homeowner since they just want to move on and close this chapter of their lives.

2nds - Bank of America continues to present the most difficult challenges in the servicing industry on Short Sale proposals, on home equity 2nds.  It takes approximately 5 weeks for them to acknowledge receipt of the package. They typically demand 5% of the net proceeds which typically equates to 12-15% of the loan balance when other lenders are closer to 10%. (This is still dramatically higher than the $3,000 in the treasury proposal). If the file is charged off and sent to recovery/collections we have heard from some agents that they are surprisingly easier to work with than the loss mitigation department. This may not be true in all instances.
Update - Since the Countrywide integration, Bank of America has become absolutely inflexible on the continuing liability for deficiency issue when authoring short sale approval letters. We hear that California borrowers, who are legally entitled to anti-deficiency protection, are forced to accept liability for the deficiency on first and second mortgages as a condition of BofA short sale approval. While this is not a new issue, the fact that there is virtually not room for flexibility is new. Irrespective of the severity of the hardship, the troubled borrower is forced to either accept the liability or surrender to foreclosure.

Bank of America Home Loans
Phone: 800-669-6087 or 800-262-4218
Fax: 805-520-5019
Fax Authorizations: 800-658-0395
Bank of America Mortgage
Phone: 866-880-1232
Fax: 888-491-4947
http://homeloanhelp.bankofamerica.com/en/short-sale.html
Tip: They request that the homeowner call them to get the process started.

Contact info:
Phone: 831-479-6000
http://www.bayfed.com/articles/mortgagehelp/
We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with Bay Federal Credit Union. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Phone 800-771-0299
Direct link to required documents and checklists:
https://www.bayviewloanservicing.com/index.jsp?pageId=home_affordable_mo...

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with Bayview Loan Servicing. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Although they are few and far between we are starting to see CalFHA short sale submissions. They appear to be easy to work with and you have a single point of contact. The homeowner must stay living in the property in order to qualify for a short sale. If the homeowner moves out and abandons the property then the short sale is immediately cancelled.

Contact Info
http://www.cjfcu.org/cjfcu/index.asp

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with Central Jersey FCU. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

If the homeowner qualifies for a modification then they do not appear to be willing to approve a short sale. Their policy appears to be take the mod or foreclosure.

Contact Info
Phone: (877) 461-2437
Fax: (856) 917-2700
web: www.schwabbank.com

We do not have much information on this lender. If you have had an experience please post your comments here or email us at info@foreclosureradar.com

1sts - Our sources agree that they communication is VERY bad. They are hard to reach and the response is slow. They do seem to be uploading their faxes a little faster. They have not recently been giving any full settlement releases. They just do not appear to be reasonable in their requests.

2nds - We hear that agents and negotiators are having some unpleasant experiences with Chase on 2nds. The sad truth is that many distressed homeowners have borrowed beyond their ability to repay in an effort to remain current on their home.  They have dug a horribly deep hole for themselves -- they have few, if any assets, and a pile of debt.  And Chase is demanding cash, and I mean lots of it. Many times as much as 50 to 60% of the outstanding balance.  They do not seem reasonable on their requests. AGENTS BEWARE: We have heard that they are shameful in their attempt to push realtors to assist in delivering funds to them off of the HUD. If this is true it is unethical and puts the realtors license at risk. We have heard this from numerous sources that also insist they have brought this to the attention of the senior management at Chase without any results.

Contact Info:
Phone: 800-311-7531
http://www.citizens1st.com/index.asp?page=1173

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

E Trade appears to be VERY difficult to deal with and they routinely demand money that is just not there. We have heard that they have been unwilling to negotiate even when they are getting a large chunk at close. (We were told that on one file they were getting $36,000 and they were demanding $39,500 and were unwilling to negotiate. You can read comments about ETrade in our Forums or by clicking here:
http://www.foreclosureradar.com/forum/realtors/representing-home-sellers...

Contact Info:
Phone 866-344-0552
If you have any experience with ETrade please post your comments here or email us at info@foreclosureradar.com

Equator (formerly REOTrans) is a transaction management portal that has been used by the REO industry for BPO and REO assignments and tracking. Most recently they introduced a short sale system for managing the documents and the communication between the homeowner, lender and realtor.

Although Equator is not a lender we wanted to create an entry so that realtors and homeowners could share comments, tips, tricks, and other information. The 2 largest lenders using Equator are Bank of America and GMAC. We have heard that another major lender is considering using Equator also.

We are told that as a document collection facility it is preventing documents from being lost and saves approximately 2-3 weeks. We have also been told that this just means your denial comes much faster and when they check "other" as reason for the denial it can feel very frustrating. We have also been told that the way GMAC uses the platform is much more user friendly than the way Bank of America has set up their system.

There are certification programs and training classes. The Five Star conference is offering all classes and certifications at their annual conference in September. http://www.fivestarconference.com/fsc If you know of other classes please post them here.

We encourage you to post your comments. This may help others that are trying to use this system.

Contact Info:
Phone: 800-569-4287
Direct Link to all docs needed to get started:
http://www.firstbanks.com/specials/foreclosureprevention.asp

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

In nearly all cases you will run into Franklin Credit as a junior lien holder. We find them to be very difficult to work with. Their focus is entirely on collection, in many cases without consideration for either the circumstances of the borrower, or the borrower's rights. We have had particular difficulty in working with Franklin Credit on transactions in which the borrower has had the debt discharged through bankruptcy. They seem to have a 'we make our own rules' attitude and are VERY proud of their "tough to negotiate with" reputation.

Contact Info:
Phone: 610-892-5182
https://www.firstkeystoneonline.com/index.html

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Phone: 559-252-5000
http://www.fresnocfcu.org/home/inv/foreclosure

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

They are easy to work with and appear to really try to help by making good sound decisions on their files. You will not likely get a full settlement release because they do have members to protect and they take that very seriously.
Contact Info:
Ph: 888-917-8931
https://www.golden1.com/aboutus/mortgageassistance.aspx

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

If you have closed a loan using their mortgage repair loan as outlined in the above link we would love to hear about it. Please email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

They handle primarily junior liens. They typically demand at least 5% of the sales price. We have heard that they are tough to work with communication is poor.

Contact Info:
Phone: 800-643-0202
http://www.gtservicing.com/fcoptions.html

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Phone: 800-844-3812
http://www.hartfordsavingsbank.com/default.htm

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

1sts - You can usually get someone to talk to. Experiences seem to be uneven - some o.k., many not so o.k. Not fast movers, budget over two months for an approval.

2nds - For some reason HSBC uses Century Credit to collect documents on junior liens - then Century Credit starts calling for file updates. Go figure. Watch out for the HSBC recovery department after a "charge off." Not very nice overall on 2nds. Frequently takes the position that if the homeowner doesn't give a pound of flesh they are going to punish them with a foreclosure.

They are using Titanium Solutions to contact homeowners. (Titanium Solutions is the leading provider of homeowner contacting and counseling services. www.titaniuminc.com Litton is relatively easy to work with and reasonable in their demands. They do not appear to be inundate with files at present. Given the attitude of Litton management towards foreclosure avoidance programs, Litton is a servicer to watch going forward. The bet here is that before this cycle is over Litton will be one of the easier servicers to work with.

Litton update. An example of Litton's attitude. We hear that Litton has said they were willing, as a senior lien holder, to allow as much as 10 cents on the dollar to junior lien holders. That was until they discovered most of the major servicers were more than willing to accept the 10 cents, but were not the least bit interested in reciprocating. The process seems to punish progressive thought at every turn.  Nonetheless, hat's off to Litton for trying.

We hear that they are very slow to respond and slow to process.

Contact Info:
Link to forms and checklist
http://www.navyfederal.org/about/stability_plan.html

We do not currently have much information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

1sts - Still Erratic. They are one of the largest independent servicers following the acquisition of HomeEq. We hear again and again that Ocwen will not postpone trustee sale dates to accomodate a Short Sale - even if it just about ready to close. If it has a trustee sale date set then don't even bother with attempting to contact them about a short sale. The bright spot is that they seem to change their policies on a regular basis so this could change at any time.

2nds - Ocwen has been one of the easiest to work with on junior liens from the beginning. They can, however, be demanding in terms of making agents work hard to get closing date extensions.

One West was formerly Indymac Bank. We hear that One West has been great to work with and very responsive to the short sale requests. We have also heard that their process seems to be getting faster!
Contact info:
Phone 877-908-4357
https://www.indymacmortgageservices.com/IndyMac/Manage-My-Account/Home-P...
(this is a link to the short sale application)

Contact info:
https://www.parkviewfederal.com/homeAffordable.asp

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

The five largest MI companies have recently been downgraded. They could become increasingly difficult to work with since their is no incentive to solve the problem early. If they approve a short sale now as opposed to cover the loss at a later date with a trustee sale they may choose to wait to take the loss. Although not really a "lender" mortgage insurance (MI) companies like Radian may have a stake in the Short Sale at least on covered loans. We are talking, in most cases, about MI coverage that was purchased, or paid for, by the beneficiary (lender) - we are not talking about traditional borrower paid mortgage insurance. Old Republic generally demands 20% of the outstanding lien (usually it's the junior lien) from the borrower. is the only way to describe most demands made by mortgage insurance companies when their cooperation is being requested to get a Short Sale closed. We continue to have more than occasional success when we attack the challenge head-on. It is time consuming. Particularly in those cases where the debt in non-recourse, you can be successful when battling with MI companies, including Radian. Just make sure you start early and have a big cup of coffee.

Contact Info:
Phone: 800-955-8885
https://www.schools.org/info/protect_your_home.asp

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Phone:800-357-9654
https://www.silverstatecu.com/SSS_news_MortgageProblems.htm

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Phone 888-723-7328
https://www.sfcu.org/2009/8/13/loss-mitigation-programs

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Ph: 800-621-1970
http://www.sterlingsavingsbank.com/subs/sterling/loans_mtge_assistance.aspx

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact Info:
Ph 800-649-3721
http://www.techcu.com/resources/news_events/news/OverPay.htm

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact info:
PH: 800-444-4589 EXT 6730
https://www.veritycu.com/Personal/Financial-Counseling-and-Education/Avo...

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.

Contact info:
PH: 888-493-7266
https://www.wescom.org/loans/avoidforeclosure.asp

We do not currently have any information from anyone who has closed a short sale with this lender. If you have had an experience with them please add your comments or you can email us at info@foreclosureradar.com.