subject: When Short Sale Negotiations Take Advantage of an Election Year [print this page] When Short Sale Negotiations Take Advantage of an Election Year
For those who have worked with our firm in the past, they understand that hearing the word "no" from a lender is not uncommon, nor is it uncommon for our staff view that "no" as nothing more than a hurdle.
Most lenders and servicers have a hierarchy and we will keep moving upwards, until either we hear "yes", or the most important person we can reach says "no" to us whether it be a CEO, executive vice president, etc.
However, if even the top of the ladder says "no", then what?
Recently, we had a file that took 6 months to close. Well beyond our usual time frame and longer than even the most extreme cases we come across. Without us, it might not have closed at all.
Our client, actively serving in the military, was transferred out of state. As those in the military know, roots aren't often planted while on active duty and transfers are a common part of the job. Still, that hasn't prevented those serving our country from buying homes, living there for a couple years, then selling. Unlike many, these purchases weren't made with the hopes of a significant profit in mind, but for some stability for themselves and/or family, in a very unstable profession.
When the real estate market crashed, those who were accustomed to buying a new home with each move faced a harsh reality they could no longer simply sell and either make a small profit or break even. Now, the only way out was paying down the balance, walking away or attempting a short sale.
Going into the short sale, our client had impeccable credit and was as fiscally responsible as anyone I'd ever come across. The day she received her transfer order, she listed the home and notified her lender immediately. Within 2 months, we received an offer just slightly above fair market value and submitted it.
We followed up for weeks, but saw no progress we couldn't even get it set up, let alone assigned to a negotiator. At around the 45 day mark, it was finally assigned to be set up, but that became a fruitless process of us submitting and re-submitting paperwork, only to have our auditor lose faxes, misplace docs, etc. We would submit something; follow up for a week between the auditor and the loss mitigation department, only to find out it needed to be re-submitted. Rinse and repeat. By the time all the requested documents were confirmed received, they were now outdated and needed to be refreshed. Ridiculous.
At the 75-day mark, we began working our way up their corporate ladder. We emailed their CEO, who had the VP of customer service call us and advise, they're doing the best they can, and we'd just have to be patient and wait. Our client was paying the mortgage as well as rent on her new apartment in an attempt to limit the damage to her credit and the money she was bleeding-out was drying up... we'd been patient long enough.
Being that this was a VA loan, we felt a lender that is allowed to service a loan provided to active members of the military must be far more efficient in dealing with loss mitigation issues that are the result of a military transfer. With the benefit of being in the middle of an election cycle, we contacted the members of Congress currently serving on the Veteran Affairs Committee in both the state she was leaving, as well as the state she was moving too. They responded the same day we contacted them and enthusiastically offered their assistance.
After all, if a lender is going to be privileged to service VA loans, they have a responsibility to do so in an efficient manner. If they are unable, it should be suggested that they lose the right to service those loans.
Now, I don't know what actually was said to the CEO of this lender when the offices of these congressmen/woman contacted them, but I do know this we received an almost immediate response from the lender and all of a sudden, documents were being found and progress was being made. We received our approval about 30 days later and closed on the short sale last week.
So for those of you out there tired of hearing "no", keep looking for new ways to hear "yes". For those who don't want to deal with this at all, call us
