No update.
Are you surprised? I didn't think so. The update today is, no update. Still in phase 1. No end in sight. The notes in their QuickBase system were "This file is still in phase 1 with no updates. The CSR sent an e-mail to the negotiator to escalate the process and to get an update."
For what? Another update to tell us that there still is no update? How about an update to tell us they haven't done anything yet because the seller's updated financials still haven't been uploaded?
This is actually comical- if you are not sitting in my seat. It is a total three-ring circus. Except there is no ringmaster and all the animals are completely out of control. The clowns are trying to run the show but they have no idea.
What about all the hype that Bank of America was streamlining their short sale process? How about those new employees they were going to hire? Let me guess- all the new hires are outsourced and off-shore. They don't truly have any access to anything except to see that the file is still in process.
Honestly I wish we were dealing with a less than great seller- one that had stopped making payments and was very close to foreclosure. I know for a fact those are the files that are being pushed forward while the average file like ours is sitting it's turn in line. Waiting. Waiting.
I have read so many chat boards- I have heard the horror stories. And now I have become one. I wish I was able to call on status myself. Not because I would act aggressively or inconsiderately, but because I would ask a few more "fact-finding" questions.
Today instead of taking the answer that there was no update I would have at least asked -Can you confirm that the seller documents were indeed received? What date? How long does your imaging system take for those documents to show up? How much time does the negotiator have to review the documents once they are in the imaging system?
Instead we now get to wait one more week for an update. Oh yeah- and the update is scheduled for September 7th. Right. Labor Day. Because everyone is going to be working on that day.
What a joke.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
What I Originally Expected to Happen
My husband and myself are both mortgage professionals. We deal with short sales every single day- from the aspect of lending to the buyer of a short sale. We were totally prepared for this- or so we thought.
From the moment we went into contract however it seemed our life had forever changed. We usually say the worst people to have to give a mortgage to are those that are in the business- and I suppose it is equally true for me. I will exclude my husband from that same generalization because it seems he really is able to step back and let all parties involved do their piece.
Myself? Not so much. It has always been hard for me to relinquish control over things and this is no different. I suppose it is because I have such high expectations about the job getting done- and done right the first time. The fact that our file has been with Bank of America for some hundred plus days and they have not yet even ordered a BPO is disconcerting to me at the least.
I talk myself off the ledge about purchasing this home every single day. Honestly, had we not already moved out and rented our home to someone else I am pretty sure we would be cancelling this transaction.
We know others that have been through specifically the Countrywide short sale experience. Namely our babysitter. She and her husband went into contract on a home in April and closed it in July. Originally the home that they bought went into contract in November, but two different buyers decided they could not wait any longer and cancelled their contracts. Maybe you know this already, maybe you don't- but Countrywide's short sale approvals are specific to each buyer. There is no substitution of buyers at the finish line- and incidentally if they cancel the contract and you find another buyer you go back to the start line. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
I was encouraged though- because knowing that it took eight months to close their transaction (but two other buyers had been in and fallen out), well, I thought ours would reasonably close within five months.
Right. Here we are at almost month four and we are logistically no closer to the finish line than we were on May 22nd or 23rd when the seller submitted their paperwork.
If you think I sound disenchanted, you are right. I am a writer by nature- it is something I enjoy doing. Sometimes I happen to think I am pretty good at it. I have been writing letters all throughout this process. My suggestion to you if you are involved in a short sale is to get out your trusty pen and paper. (or laptop). I'm not saying so much that my letters are getting me anywhere (except maybe in hot water with the seller's realtor) but I do happen to find therapy in at least writing what I feel.
I will post some of the letters I have written in upcoming posts. Don't copy my content- but feel free to write letters of your own as your situation dictates.
From the moment we went into contract however it seemed our life had forever changed. We usually say the worst people to have to give a mortgage to are those that are in the business- and I suppose it is equally true for me. I will exclude my husband from that same generalization because it seems he really is able to step back and let all parties involved do their piece.
Myself? Not so much. It has always been hard for me to relinquish control over things and this is no different. I suppose it is because I have such high expectations about the job getting done- and done right the first time. The fact that our file has been with Bank of America for some hundred plus days and they have not yet even ordered a BPO is disconcerting to me at the least.
I talk myself off the ledge about purchasing this home every single day. Honestly, had we not already moved out and rented our home to someone else I am pretty sure we would be cancelling this transaction.
We know others that have been through specifically the Countrywide short sale experience. Namely our babysitter. She and her husband went into contract on a home in April and closed it in July. Originally the home that they bought went into contract in November, but two different buyers decided they could not wait any longer and cancelled their contracts. Maybe you know this already, maybe you don't- but Countrywide's short sale approvals are specific to each buyer. There is no substitution of buyers at the finish line- and incidentally if they cancel the contract and you find another buyer you go back to the start line. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
I was encouraged though- because knowing that it took eight months to close their transaction (but two other buyers had been in and fallen out), well, I thought ours would reasonably close within five months.
Right. Here we are at almost month four and we are logistically no closer to the finish line than we were on May 22nd or 23rd when the seller submitted their paperwork.
If you think I sound disenchanted, you are right. I am a writer by nature- it is something I enjoy doing. Sometimes I happen to think I am pretty good at it. I have been writing letters all throughout this process. My suggestion to you if you are involved in a short sale is to get out your trusty pen and paper. (or laptop). I'm not saying so much that my letters are getting me anywhere (except maybe in hot water with the seller's realtor) but I do happen to find therapy in at least writing what I feel.
I will post some of the letters I have written in upcoming posts. Don't copy my content- but feel free to write letters of your own as your situation dictates.
How exactly did we get here?
So it all started one Sunday when I was surfing the internet. I don't know why but I was looking at houses for sale in our zip code. Not that we needed a new house, ours was perfectly beautiful.
I came across one in our dream neighborhood. It has a basement (and we live in the desert- so this would be a luxury). It was 6600 square feet (we could live in it with ten of our closest friends!) and it was only $389k. I hyperventilated. I called my realtor and asked her to meet us over there.
Unfortunately the home was so badly vandalized it wouldn't have made sense to even try to clean it up unless I was a general contractor. But that set the ball in motion. I asked our realtor to set us up for auto-pops to let us know when anything in that neighborhood goes on the MLS.
Four days later- bing! We get an auto-pop. Similar model (6300 square feet- we can only live there with nine of our friends) and this one was absolutely move-in ready. (well, the carpet and paint really could be re-done, but if you absolutely had to you could probably move in as-is).
The catch? It was a short sale. The highlight? We really didn't have any rush. We already had a beautiful home that we owned so sitting and waiting for the new escrow to close shouldn't have been any big deal.
There was my kiss of death. At any rate- we went into contract May 11th and began working on our financial arrangements. The loan approval was no problem- we had that within two weeks. We were more concerned about renting out our current home. I had been researching our neighborhood and was seeing that the homes in our area were averaging 60-90 days on the MLS and then were renting for decreased rents- and neither was a prospect we were excited about.
Because we are extremely conservative we decided to list our home for rent on the MLS on June 23rd. By June 30th we had so many offers we put it in contingent status and chose one family that was willing to wait until at least September 1st to take occupancy.
It should have all been fine, right? Except that we have had no forward progress on this short sale. So we debated back and forth- do we pass on the qualified tenants that we had that wanted to sign a two year lease or did we relocate temporarily in hopes that the short sale would be wrapping up within 60 days or so?
And that, my friends, is how we got to where we are. We relocated to a short term rental. Thankfully for us we were lucky to get this house. The landlord kindly sympathized with our situation and let us sign a sixty day lease with the option to go monthly after that. We packed half of our stuff into two sixteen foot PODS and the other half has been crammed into our little short term rental.
We have uprooted our two children (one aged almost three and the other eleven months). We have tossed our lives upside down. We gave up our beautiful four thousand square foot golf course home. And now we are in limbo and only praying that this short sale really does go through.
We even put an offer in on a bank owned home last weekend hoping maybe we could get some resolution there- but our offer was not even given a second thought as they took a cash offer with no notification to our realtor.
This has been an emotional process. Physically trying. And some days I feel my heart and my soul are just going to break. I wonder what I have done, and why I have done it. I have researched everything I can find about short sales- and I will continue to post everything I find for you in this one convenient location. Stop back by soon!
I came across one in our dream neighborhood. It has a basement (and we live in the desert- so this would be a luxury). It was 6600 square feet (we could live in it with ten of our closest friends!) and it was only $389k. I hyperventilated. I called my realtor and asked her to meet us over there.
Unfortunately the home was so badly vandalized it wouldn't have made sense to even try to clean it up unless I was a general contractor. But that set the ball in motion. I asked our realtor to set us up for auto-pops to let us know when anything in that neighborhood goes on the MLS.
Four days later- bing! We get an auto-pop. Similar model (6300 square feet- we can only live there with nine of our friends) and this one was absolutely move-in ready. (well, the carpet and paint really could be re-done, but if you absolutely had to you could probably move in as-is).
The catch? It was a short sale. The highlight? We really didn't have any rush. We already had a beautiful home that we owned so sitting and waiting for the new escrow to close shouldn't have been any big deal.
There was my kiss of death. At any rate- we went into contract May 11th and began working on our financial arrangements. The loan approval was no problem- we had that within two weeks. We were more concerned about renting out our current home. I had been researching our neighborhood and was seeing that the homes in our area were averaging 60-90 days on the MLS and then were renting for decreased rents- and neither was a prospect we were excited about.
Because we are extremely conservative we decided to list our home for rent on the MLS on June 23rd. By June 30th we had so many offers we put it in contingent status and chose one family that was willing to wait until at least September 1st to take occupancy.
It should have all been fine, right? Except that we have had no forward progress on this short sale. So we debated back and forth- do we pass on the qualified tenants that we had that wanted to sign a two year lease or did we relocate temporarily in hopes that the short sale would be wrapping up within 60 days or so?
And that, my friends, is how we got to where we are. We relocated to a short term rental. Thankfully for us we were lucky to get this house. The landlord kindly sympathized with our situation and let us sign a sixty day lease with the option to go monthly after that. We packed half of our stuff into two sixteen foot PODS and the other half has been crammed into our little short term rental.
We have uprooted our two children (one aged almost three and the other eleven months). We have tossed our lives upside down. We gave up our beautiful four thousand square foot golf course home. And now we are in limbo and only praying that this short sale really does go through.
We even put an offer in on a bank owned home last weekend hoping maybe we could get some resolution there- but our offer was not even given a second thought as they took a cash offer with no notification to our realtor.
This has been an emotional process. Physically trying. And some days I feel my heart and my soul are just going to break. I wonder what I have done, and why I have done it. I have researched everything I can find about short sales- and I will continue to post everything I find for you in this one convenient location. Stop back by soon!
In the Beginning....
Ever wonder how it all starts? Exactly how does a short sale become a closed sale?
Good question! So far, we don't know. We are bogged down in a short sale right now- as buyers- with no apparent end in sight!
So here is a timeline for you:
May 7th 2009- home listed on MLS for $450,000
May 9th, 2009- we offered list price plus three percent seller concessions
May 11th, 2009- seller accepted with no counter
May 22nd, 2009- short sale negotiation company (independent third party short sale processing company) submitted the seller's short sale package to Countrywide (now Bank of America)
Wait for it.... Wait for it.... No status updates whatsoever until-
July 6th, 2009 assigned to a Phase 1 negotiator. We were told they had fifteen days to review the package.
July 14th, 2009- Phase 1 negotiator is the only person that has done their job in a timely manner. File was moved on to Phase 2. Supposedly...
Wait for it... Wait for it....
August 13th, 2009 Bank of America requested updated financials from the seller
August 20th, 2009 seller's financials were sent in a few days prior but BofA still did not have them uploaded in their system.
August 27th, 2009 seller's financials still not showing in the system. Short sale processing company tells us that BofA indicates "sale date" of the property is September 23, 2009. Ummm, this house is not in default. What the? Ooops, wrong info. Short sale processing company calls back and is told still no update. BofA will not order the BPO until the sellers financials show in their system. By the time they show in the system no doubt they will be expired again.
Next follow up date is scheduled for 9/2. I have zero optimism that we are going to have any further progress. We have been in contract for 110 days.
I spend more of my time now searching for anything related to "Countrywide Short Sale Success", "Countrywide Short Sale Timelines", "Bank of America Short Sale Process", you name it- anything short sale related. I am becoming an independent expert on this process- so if you are looking for a catalogue of information you are coming to the right place.
Bookmark it. Visit often. Comment. Tell me your situation- and how you found success (or why it failed). Share! Share! Share!
Good question! So far, we don't know. We are bogged down in a short sale right now- as buyers- with no apparent end in sight!
So here is a timeline for you:
May 7th 2009- home listed on MLS for $450,000
May 9th, 2009- we offered list price plus three percent seller concessions
May 11th, 2009- seller accepted with no counter
May 22nd, 2009- short sale negotiation company (independent third party short sale processing company) submitted the seller's short sale package to Countrywide (now Bank of America)
Wait for it.... Wait for it.... No status updates whatsoever until-
July 6th, 2009 assigned to a Phase 1 negotiator. We were told they had fifteen days to review the package.
July 14th, 2009- Phase 1 negotiator is the only person that has done their job in a timely manner. File was moved on to Phase 2. Supposedly...
Wait for it... Wait for it....
August 13th, 2009 Bank of America requested updated financials from the seller
August 20th, 2009 seller's financials were sent in a few days prior but BofA still did not have them uploaded in their system.
August 27th, 2009 seller's financials still not showing in the system. Short sale processing company tells us that BofA indicates "sale date" of the property is September 23, 2009. Ummm, this house is not in default. What the? Ooops, wrong info. Short sale processing company calls back and is told still no update. BofA will not order the BPO until the sellers financials show in their system. By the time they show in the system no doubt they will be expired again.
Next follow up date is scheduled for 9/2. I have zero optimism that we are going to have any further progress. We have been in contract for 110 days.
I spend more of my time now searching for anything related to "Countrywide Short Sale Success", "Countrywide Short Sale Timelines", "Bank of America Short Sale Process", you name it- anything short sale related. I am becoming an independent expert on this process- so if you are looking for a catalogue of information you are coming to the right place.
Bookmark it. Visit often. Comment. Tell me your situation- and how you found success (or why it failed). Share! Share! Share!
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