Bank of America trying to change its reputation in the short sales arena
I was fortunate enough this morning to sit in and listen on a webinar set up by Bank of America. It was their effort to explain how they would better handle short sales from here on out. The webinar was hosted by Matt Vernon, executive in charge of REO and Short Sales, for Bank of America with over 10,000 Realtors listening in who specialize in short sales. He was the man in charge.
It was interesting to hear that they are focusing on dramatically improving their short sale process because they want to re-establish their relationship with Realtors to strengthen their ties with us on their mortgage origination front . Apparently, there has been a lot of negative repercussion on their mortgage origination front during this important time, when buyers are trying to buy properties to take advantage of the Federal Tax Credit. He emphasized this point at the beginning of the presentation and again at the end of the presentation.
They have re-defined the customer in their view of the short sale process. It is no longer, solely the investor, but the new definition includes:
1. Distressed homeowner
2. Listing Agent
3. Buyer’s Agent
4. Investor
This was the order he placed the various interested parties. (Hmmm. I wonder if their participation in the HAFA Program had anything to do with this?)
Then he went into full detail explaining how they are utilizing Equator to process short sales and how successful it has been for them from in the past few months from their own measurements. I can attest to this fact.
This presentation today obviously was to address the negative image that Bank of America is suffering right now from Realtors who specialize in Short Sales. However, it was very refreshing for this huge organization to come out and pro-actively admit they have a problem and lay out what they are going to do to do as an institution to address the problem. But most importantly, in my opinion, learning that they are doing this because they are suffering on their loan origination side as a result of this bad publicity.
Call me old fashioned, but I always try to get to the root cause of why people or institutions change their behavior. In this case, apparently, it is because of the money they are losing on the origination front. This makes it real and insures Bank of America will follow through and live up to its announcement. After all, it is about them making more money.
The Nuts and Bolts of HAFA – Which lenders are participating? Part 3 of 3
As we come to the final part of the series, and have learned about the details and the eligibility of the HAFA program; we have learned that it is beneficial to the homeowner who cannot qualify for loan modifications. And because the lenders typically will net more through a short sale than foreclosure, it makes financial sense for them to participate, especially in conjunction with the bonus components which have increase dramatically as of March 26, 2010.
So without further adieu, the list of lenders and servicers who have agreed to participate with the HAFA program are posted below. For the full detailed list, please click on the final link below.
Who is Supporting HAFA?
Lender and loan servicers participating in HAFA must have signed a servicer participation agreement with Fannie Mae – the program administrator and financial agent representing the United States in this case – to participate in HAMP by December 31, 2009. Therefore, most lenders are participating. As April 5 approaches, lenders are developing comprehensive programs in order to prepare for the expected flood of applications for short sale agreements and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure that HAFA will unleash.
Bank of America
- Bank of America announced in March its commitment to participate in HAFA when it activates. It has been preparing for a more streamlined process for months though its support of HAMP.
- Bank of America’s short sale processor Equator has announced the launch of a brand-new best practices software workflow solutions directly related to HAFA.
Citibank
- Citibank is participating in HAMP which is a requirement for participating in HAFA
GMAC Financial Services
- GMAC has started a program to preemptively contact borrowers who are not eligible for loan modifications under HAMP and offering discussing alternatives through HAFA and claims a three-day turnaround on short sale applications
Lenders Asset Management Corporation (LAMCO)
- LAMCO has been training teams of specialists to support mortgage servicers comply with HAFA and quickly negotiate short sales
Wachovia
- Wachovia is participating in HAMP which is a requirement for participating in HAFA
Wells Fargo
- Wells Fargo is participating in HAMP which is a requirement for participating in HAFA
- Wells Fargo has been ramping up efforts to assist homeowners by actively contacting those who are facing hardships
NATIONAL PARTICIPATING SERVICERS
Currently, the HAFA Program has not been activated. Therefore, there is not yet an official list of participating lenders. Generally speaking, lenders who participate in HAFA are also participating in HAMP. For a full list of servicers participating in HAMP, visit Making Home Affordable’s Participating Servicers List.
Treasury announces principal reduction initiative
Ah, Bank of America did not voluntarily agree to principal write downs on some 45,000 of Countrywide Mortgage loans because it was the right thing to do after all……… Now we know the true reason for that grand gesture………
Bank of America announces Principal Forgiveness for some Countrywide loans
Hip Hip Hooray!
Bank of America today announced its decision to agree to permit principal forgiveness for certain Countrywide loans which are severely underwater. This decision will affect some 45,000 borrowers who have “sub-prime and pay-option” loans.
This is fantastic news for those who are affected, as negative equity or being under-water, is one of the biggest reasons why some borrowers face foreclosure. Of course, the fact that some of these borrowers are voluntarily choosing foreclosure and walking away probably has something to do with BofA’s announcement today as well.
Countrywide issued a lot of sub-prime and option ARM products to consumers in California, could it be that they are acknowledging they were questionable products?
Whatever the reason, this is good news for all distressed property owners as this may be the first step and other lenders may follow Bank of America’s steps.
Foreclosing on a property the bank did not own.
Now I’ve heard everything. Can you imagine a lender accidentally foreclosing on your home and throwing all of your belongings out on the streets? Imagine how embarrassing and shocking that would be for you if you paid for your home in cash and owed nothing on it. Imagine further that you informed the bank’s agent and said agent repeatedly informed the bank that they had the wrong house. The bank foreclosed on the property it did not own anyway.
Well it sounds unbelieveable, but leave it to Bank of America to foreclose on a house it did not hold a note on.
A thankful client
I get testimonials from my clients here and there. But this one touched me, because we did have to go through a lot with Bank of America and for a very long time, but in the end it came out all right. I was very happy that she and her family could go on without having to look over their shoulders and just go on with their lives since they had moved. Truly, this is what I mean by trying to help the foreclosure crisis, one family at a time. Helping people like Becky makes me feel like I am contributing in my own way.
A new record: 20 days!
As a San Jose Short Sale Agent, one of the complaints I hear most often from both Realtors and the general populace is that Short Sales take too long to get approved by the lenders. And generally this is a legitimate gripe. It is quite typical to take 30-45 days to clear a phase 1 negotiator, then another 30-45 days to clear the phase 2 negotiator, then possibly another 30 days for investors to make the final decision if a loan servicing company is involved. I have a Bank of America file that we submitted a short sale package on 8/10/09 and as of today, they still have not given us a final approval (the second has agreed, but the first still has not gotten around to giving us a final written answer yet), so my bi-weekly calls to the negotiator continues. We put that house on the market in June. Hence, most files fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
This record breaking file involved CitiMortgage on the first and CitiBank on the second and it involved an investor too! The key is doing the right prep work initially and getting the requisite documents over to the lender on the first try, so there is no time wasted going back and forth to complete the file. After you do this as a specialty for a while, you know what the lenders need to make their decisions.
Needless to say, CitiMortgage is now another favorite lender besides Wachovia. If these are your lenders, please contact me.
