25 HUDs to Close a Bank of America HAFA Short Sale

I will forever recall this short sale as the deal that demanded 25 HUDs to close a Bank of America HAFA short sale. I am only half joking with clients when they ask me about a Bank of America HAFA short sale. I say: “You would rather poke out your eyes.” Like with any short sale, there is truth in the pain. The pain, I tell sellers, is simply an accurate description of the agony that other Bank of America HAFA short sale sellers have shared with me, which I freely pass along to them. I don’t discourage a HAFA short sale for these Bank of America customers, but I want to prepare them for what lies ahead. As a Sacramento short sale agent — I share my experiences, good or bad — full strength, I don’t dilute.

We closed a Bank of America HAFA short sale yesterday that started in August of 2011. We were bright-eyed and bushy tailed back then. Our HAFA package was completed on that warm August day when we initially signed the listing paperwork. We started the transaction with UTLS, which later changed to AMO, which was then transferred to AMS, and I’m not sure who we were talking to when it closed, but it might have been REDC. I lost track. It was no longer important to count the third-party vendors as it was to the count the number of HUDs we supplied to them.

I tweeted the Bank of America social media team. I contacted the Executive Office. We escalated the file. It did not stop the demand for a revised HUD — eventually 25 HUDs in all. First they wanted THIS on the HUD. Then they demanded THAT. We gave them THIS and THAT but they wanted THIS NEW THING. After they got THIS NEW THING, they wanted THIS again. We supplied THIS and they asked for WHATEVER. We gave them WHATEVER and they went back to THIS and THAT.

I’m not making this up. That’s the hilarious thing about a Bank of America HAFA short sale — you don’t have to make up anything to induce tears from your shrieks of laughter. You start to wonder if the bank is just messing with you or if it is really that inept. A client told me yesterday it’s definitely ineptness after I relayed this story. He showed me a letter he received from Bank of America. It said his loan was paid in full. It was an explanation of why the bank returned his August payment. Because his loan was paid in full. Except his loan is in default, and we’re about to open a short sale file. Needless to say, his short sale will not be a Bank of America HAFA short sale.

But the 25 HUD short sale that closed yesterday was not my longest Bank of America HAFA short sale. This lasted a short 14 months. Of course, when we finally received the short sale approval letter, the buyer who had patiently waited all of this time decided to cancel. That is not completely unexpected. We put the home back on the market and immediately received a ton of offers — some as much as $20,000 over the original buyer’s offer. I asked the buyer’s agent: Is the buyer dumber than a bag of nails?

The 28th of September came and went. Our short sale approval letter expired. Finally, the original buyer came to his senses and elected to close escrow. We received an extension, submitted at least 3 final HUDs and closed on October 5th. Which was good because Monday is a holiday and the auction is scheduled for Tuesday. The seller is very relieved that this short sale rollercoaster ride is over, bruised, but no broken bones.