Triciae, question about a short sale, fromt the lender side.

16 years ago

I have a property listed for a short sale. We have an offer, but have not been able to get any answer from the mortgage company.

I don't want to get into too many details, but I will say that I've had a devil of a time trying to get any response to this offer. I've spent more than 20 hours on the $(*&%! phone just trying to get this offer into the right hands. NO ONE seems to know anything about anything when I call their loss mitigation department, and 99% of the time I get some aspect of the following:

Call # for loss mitigation "specialist" handling the case. Get a voicemail telling me to leave message, but not to expect a return call before 3-5 days. Leave msg.

Don't hear anything for days. Call back. Get another voice mail. Get frustrated. Try main loss mitigation department. Get put on hold for up to 45 minutes. Finally reach a human who tells me I'm not calling the right department. They transfer me to another department. Wait up to 45 minutes. Finally reach another human who tells me that not only is this the wrong department, but that the first department was actually the correct department. Transfer me back to 1st department. Another 25-30 minute wait. Then I get another human who tells me that this case is being handled by XXX, and they transfer me to their voicemail. Get frustrated again. Call back and find out that the "specialist" I was told is handling the case is actually NOT handling the case. Give me another number, and I fax all info to the "correct" person. Wait days and days. Hear nothing. Try calling their direct line again, and then the vicious circle starts all over again.

Is there anything you can recommend from an insider's perspective as to how I can push this offer through to someone who can make a decision on it?

I know all lenders are different, so I'm not expecting detailed information, but rather any inside tricks or little-known facts that I may be missing.

Any help would be great. If it wasn't for all of the blonde hair color I have, I'd probably be completely gray-haired due to the stress this has caused me! :P

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

triciae
16 years ago
Hi,

I'm not surprised to hear your story. They're probably swamped & still getting their work-out department fully staffed. Also, since it's been a long time since there's been many work-outs new people have to be trained.

If you really want to get somebody's attention quickly the very best way is to look up who's Chairman of the Board, write up your questions and/or offer, fax it to the Chairman's office, & then make a follow-up phone call to his/her office the next day. Every financial institution I've ever worked at, both banks & mortgage companies, fall apart when the Chairman gets a letter. That's cause no matter how chaotic it is in the trenches the Chairman will always be told, "everything's wonderful". So, when a letter like yours comes in saying you've been unable to get a response...the Chairman will have a little 'discussion' with the manager/director/whoever's heading the loss mitigation department & you will become top priority since they undoubtedly have to report back to the Chairman that you've been "taken care of" & are now happy to have dealt with the institution. Seriously, I know it sounds nuts but these people are really so isolated they have no real sense of what's happening.

If you don't want to go that far, call back & ask to speak to the loss mitigation department head. You'll end up with that person's Admin but that 'may' be enough to create the same chain reaction as going to the Chairman depending on the size of the institution.

This type of situation will get better as lenders get their staffs better aligned to handle work-outs. That's going to take six months though.

You're spinning your wheels (as you already know) trying to get anything done at the lower levels. Right now, many "Loss Mitigation (new word for work-out) Officers are still trying to figure out what their new job description says. :)

Good Luck!

Tricia
reno_fan
Original Author
16 years ago
(((((Smacking forehead))))))

You're right! I did try to get the department head on several different occasions. They kept transferring me to the dept. head voicemail. I'll give you three guesses as to whether or not the dept head returned my calls!

I don't mind extremes, and I'm a firm believer in letter-writing, both for exemplary behavior and deplorable behavior. I'd LOVE to contact the Chairman. Any clues as to how I may find that information? A google search?
Related Discussions
Where do these lenders get off?
Q
Comments (30)
Well, after 3 closing times set and canceled at the last minute, 2 contract extensions, dozens of phone calls and not a few tears, it appears the deal is disintegrating. Not completely dead yet, but definitely on life support. After all is said and done either way, I can feel free to post more detail, but suffice it to say, some of the parties involved appear to have been less than truthful about where things stood. Right now, about as discouraged and emotionally exhausted as I've ever been. I can only imagine how the buyer must feel as well. A bunch of our stuff is now in storage in anticipation of moving, because we were moving to temporary quarters while we build. Including many of the "decor" items that dressed up the house for staging purposes. Plus, the storage is an added expense which we really weren't planning on without selling the house. So, not sure what to do about that now that it looks like we may be back to square one. The saving grace is that our realtor absolutely insisted on negotiating a "possession after closing" into the contract, just in case, so that we would not move before closing and then be stuck. I hate this.
...See More
Short sales
Q
Comments (13)
As mentioned above, this might be an option: Foreclosure may be avoided by giving up property deed JIM FLYNN Columnist Last week, I told you about short sales a sale of property by a distressed borrower where the lender agrees to release its lien for less than what it is owed. Lenders will occasionally agree to this on the theory that this is as good as itÂs going to get. ThatÂs because foreclosing against the property will add cost and delay, and wonÂt increase the amount of money the lender will ultimately receive from its collateral. Sometimes, lenders will not only agree to a short sale, theyÂll also agree to forgive the remaining balance on the loan. But sellers canÂt count on that. Another strategy that often comes into play when a borrower gets in trouble on a loan is called a "deed in lieu of foreclosure." Here, the borrower agrees to turn ownership of the property over to the lender by signing a deed. This again saves the lender the cost and delay associated with a foreclosure and will usually include a promise on the part of the borrower to leave the property in good condition Â something that doesnÂt always occur when the lender takes the property back in foreclosure and evicts the borrower. In a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction, a borrower has good odds of negotiating an arrangement whereby the lender will agree to consider the loan paid in full in exchange for immediate ownership of the property. Borrower to lender: "Hello lender? Borrower here. Listen, IÂll give you a deed to my property if you agree to cancel the promissory note I signed. What do you say?" Lender to borrower: "Why should I do that?" Borrower to lender: "Because otherwise itÂs going to take you six months to get the property back and cost you $5,000 in legal fees, and I may not leave the property in the best condition when I pack up and go. Plus, after you evict me, IÂll file bankruptcy." Lender to borrower: "Oh." If a deed in lieu of foreclosure is to occur, the parties need to enter into a written agreement that explains whatÂs going on Â specifically, that the borrowerÂs debt is being satisfied by a voluntary transfer of the property. This agreement will also contain language that the lenderÂs title insurance company will insist on stating that the borrower really knows what heÂs doing and has agreed to give up legal rights built into the foreclosure process Â notably, the right to cure the default and stop the foreclosure during a several month period while the foreclosure is moving from initial filing to sale. Keep in mind that a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction wonÂt work if there are other liens on the property. ThatÂs because if the senior lender gets a deed to the property from its borrower, the title will be subject to those other liens and the lender is going to have to foreclosure in any event to get rid of them. Thus, a deed from the borrower wonÂt accomplish the goal of saving cost and delay associated with a foreclosure. Like short sales, deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions come with considerable legal baggage and borrowers are best advised to see a lawyer before moving in this direction. Jim Flynn is a local attorney. Contact him c/o The Gazette, P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs 80901; fax 578-8836 or e-mail jtflynn325@hotmail.com. Not all questions can be answered.
...See More
Which would be better for home sale - Siding Question
Q
Comments (31)
We have cedar siding. We live on the CT shore. I wish we had vinyl because it's easier to powerwash. We have to wash every other year. Off the coast two miles we might not have to do it but every 5-6 years. Brick is not common in New England. It was reserved for public buildings & not many of those. Most were hand-chiseled granite block which we have lots of. New England had/has lots of trees for siding. We do not have clay for brick building. Clay had to be shipped up from the Manhattan area in the colonial days where there was a thriving pottery industry as early as 1st Q 18th century. It was easier to get bricks in Vermont than Connecticut or Massachuesetts because they brought it up the Hudson to Vermont hence the pottery industries in Bennington. End of history lesson. Today's vinyl is very nice & virtually maintenance free. Quirky, if you lived in New England you'd have a tough time with your vinyl phobia. Depending on exact size & age it costs $15-$40K+ to repaint a colonial-style home in New England & it has to be done every 5 years, or so. The older the home the more expensive the paint job. Old wood & paint are like oil/water. Paint just doesn't stick on old wood no matter what the prep. We have lots of experience with old wood siding in New England. New homes are vinyl. There are five $2.5M homes being built near me. They are vinyl wrapped. We can be crusty on occassion here; but we are not stupid. Also, a New England Cape Cod, Saltbox, or Colonial home would look just plain silly with brick, rock, or some other hard-looking material. It would be like having Cape Cod weathered shingles on a sprawling ranch in New Mexico. Tricia
...See More
Questions about Public Auctions
Q
Comments (13)
eastgate: I purchased my first home at a foreclosure sale - in one state - had to have all of the money by the end of the day. Where I am now, different state - requires a cashiers/bank check to bid at auction and the remainder due in 30 days. Terms or bid conditions should be in the foreclosure notice and if there is one a bid package from the auctioneer. It should not take days to go to the courthouse where deeds and liens and mortgages are recorded and search the records. In some places you can go online and do the searches. In our case, we have already hired a lawyer to help with the property search and arranged with our bank for the loan - so we can close in less than the 30 days required after the sale. All we are waiting on now, is the new sale date. Best of luck to you. It can be daunting - you have to have your ducks in a row, you never know about the true condition of the property. I agree don't buy anything that has people still living in it unless you are prepared for a long eviction process.
...See More
xamsx
16 years ago
reno_fan do you want to list the bank?
triciae
16 years ago
If it's a publically traded company...their website will have an "Investor Relations" page & there you'll find a link to the Board.

If it's a privately held company & you can't find it by Googlin'...just call & ask whoever answers the phone.

Have fun! :)

/tricia
reno_fan
Original Author
16 years ago
Ugh. A google search found that my experience is quite the norm. This is an excerpt from another post about their attempt to reach this company. It's so frighteningly similar to my experience I could have written it myself:

ABCMortgage should be avoided at all costs. I would rather live in a box than live in a mansion that has anything to do with ABC. I donÂt anger easily and I'm a reasonable and patient person--- IÂm in customer service myself---but the customer service, or should I say "lack of customer service" at ABC is appalling. My experience on trying to call to CORRECT THEIR MISTAKE and get information on the status of my loan...

ABC--hello

Me---yes, i have been transferred a few times with no resolution and I would like to speak with somebody about---

ABC interrupts---your property address?

Me---well, hang on... the person I just spoke with blindly transferred me to the wrong dept. as soon as I gave her my address and--

ABC interrupting again----sir, I need your address to bring up your account

Me---ok, but I want to explain my situation before you transfer me...its 1234 main street any town USA and---

ABC interrupts---please hold and then IÂm transferred again.

Hello (unintelligible) dept.

Me---yes, I am trying to resolve a problem with my mortgage and I was transferred to----

ABC interrupts---your property address please?

(repeat above)

Transferred again----only this time goes into someoneÂs voice mail with the recorded message saying it might be up to 4 DAYS before I get a return call...so, I call back again....same process as above---only this time, I demand to speak with a manager...she asks me for what? I tell her that I have a problem that I cant GET RESOLVED BECAUSE I KEEP GETTING TRANSFERRED TO PEOPLE WHO DONT CARE TO LISTEN! I then sternly, not rudely, tell her I want to speak with a manager now and I dont want to kept on hold all day...this is a serious issue which needs to be resolved immediately. then---you guessed it-

ABC--- hold please, click transfer, phone rings, voice mail, tone to leave message, disconnect.
Believe it or not, after this hour of getting nowhere, I called back again---same process; only this time, I got transferred to someoneÂs voicemail who was on vacation!!!!! Unbelievable. What eventually happened? Nothing....oh except there lack of assistance on resolving THEIR mistake created a domino effect of financial problems that have perpetuated to the point OF RUINING MY LIFE. ABC mortgage is terrible and should not be in business...do the world a favor and go into organized crime or something, but donÂt call yourself a company...your nothing but a bunch of people who donÂt care about anything.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me.....
dreamgarden
16 years ago
I did this with my ISP recently. I got a $100.00 refund as well as 6 free months of service!

When you speak to anyone, make sure you get their name and title at the beginning of the conversation. I like to tell them I need to know this in case we get "disconnected"!

I find that I get better service when the person I speak to knows that they will be held accountable.
triciae
16 years ago
Yikes! Double Yikes!!

That's clearly a company out of control.

Is there a local office for this company? Could you physically go there & stand at somebody's desk until you get an answer?

/tricia
trt99
16 years ago
I have a similar story...but from the buyer's perspective.

I made an offer on a house that was in short sale status on July 27th. It was a house that was an investment property for the owner and her co-investors had bailed on her so she losing the house.
My realtor told me that it would likely take a couple of months before we heard anything back and that was exactly what happened. Since I really liked the house I was willing to be patient...but only up to a point.
Here's my timeline of events:

July 27th - offer made

late September - the house/case finally assigned to somebody at the mortgage company. We figure, yeah!!finally things will start moving!!

October 5- Mortgage company finally orders the appraisal on the property. The house ultimately appraises for $2000 more than we offered.

October 12 - Mortage company counters my offer on the closing costs. They want to reduce the amount they cover by 1%. I accept their counter offer.

October 25 - We still haven't heard anything from the mortage company regarding my acceptance of their counter offer. So my realtor and I decide that its time for a back-up plan and I should start looking at other properties. With the speed in which they'd done everything else, who knows how long it would be before they respond.

October 27 - Find a great deal in the city I prefered to live in. I cancel the original purchase agreement. Make an offer that night on the new house and the bank accepts it the following day.
The new house is also a foreclosure property...but the big difference is that it is bank-owned.

I have the home inspection scheduled for tomorrow and am expecting to close on the new house on or before Dec 3. Although until I have the keys in my hand I don't think I'll be able to believe it.

I'm a pre-approved first-time homebuyer and I was making a fair offer on a property....I figured things would go pretty smoothly. What should have been one of the most exciting times in my life has left me bitter and disillusioned in the industry. There were phone calls constantly being made to the mortgage company. But they only responded back when they had something to report on.

Ultimately it's going to end up OK for me and I'll get over all these negative feelings I have, but something really needs to change in how the industry is run.
I would personally recommend to anyone wanting to make an offer on a short sale property to run away.

Thanks for letting me vent and sorry this got so long.....

t

Triciae, question about a short sale, fromt the lender side.

Comments (8)

triciae

reno_fan
Original Author

Related Discussions

xamsx

triciae

reno_fan
Original Author

dreamgarden

triciae

trt99

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Triciae, question about a short sale, fromt the lender side.

Comments (8)

triciae

reno_fanOriginal Author

Related Discussions

xamsx

triciae

reno_fanOriginal Author

dreamgarden

triciae

trt99

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

reno_fan
Original Author

reno_fan
Original Author