Email Elizabethhafa short sales
Types of Bank of America Short Sales
This Sacramento short sale agent closed a bunch more Bank of America short sales at year end. I seem to close more Bank of America short sales than any other kind of short sale in Sacramento, although I doubt there is a bank out there that I haven’t dealt with. It’s just that Bank of America seems to dominate. So, that means I am very familiar with Bank of America. Here are some of the variations of Bank of America short sales a short sale agent can do:
- Bank of America HAFA short sales
- The Bank of America Cooperative Short Sales
- The Bank of America Streamlined Cooperative (which are different than regular Cooperative)
- A Bank of America Fannie Mae short sale
- A Bank of America Freddie Mac short sale
- A Bank of America FHA short sale
- A Bank of America VA short sale
- A Bank of America Fannie Mae HAFA short sale
- A Bank of America Freddie Mac HAFA short sale
- A Bank of America Fannie Mae Cooperative Short Sale
- You will not be able to do a Bank of America Freddie Mac Cooperative Short Sale because Freddie Mac does not participate in the Cooperative Short Sale Series . . .
And this is just to name a few combinations.
But a few days ago, a negotiator threatened to return funds. That happens sometimes. Not that funds are actually returned, just that the bank threatens to return the wire, which means it won’t accept the final payoff and the short sale is not really closed even though the documents have recorded.
Why? Why would a bank do that? In this case, the closer suddenly noticed that a second borrower did not sign the deed to the new buyer. This was not an escrow mistake. This was done on purpose. The reason the borrower did not sign the deed is because the second borrower was no longer “on title,” meaning the borrower had conveyed her interest via a deed to the first borrower. The closer claimed legal things such as the recorded deed and the title insurance policy vesting did not matter and that the second borrower absolutely should have signed the deed out and be noted on the HUD. RESPA be damned, was the attitude.
See, this is yet another reason why banks do not belong in the real estate business. Not to mention, how did a file get all the way through the short sale process at Bank of America if this was an issue? It’s because it’s not really an issue.
Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, tropical fish in lagoon at Bora Bora
A Bank of America HAFA Short Sale Broke the Record
It’s too bad this isn’t Talk Like a Pirate Day because I’d like to say shiver me timbers — I got a Bank of America HAFA short sale approved in fewer than 6 weeks. None of this year-long craziness with 25 HUDs. Start to finish, from the day Bank of America mailed out the paperwork to the day we received the short sale approval letter for the buyers of that Hollywood Park short sale. How did this happen? Did the Sacramento River open up and part? Did a lightning bolt slap the Sacramento Capitol? And more important, how can this Sacramento short sale agent make that happen again? Over and over?
Because I did the same things I always do. I reviewed all of the paperwork upfront for the short sale, which is an extremely important component some short sale agents miss. We discussed the hardship letter in detail. I immediately turned around the revised HUD and Terms of Sale. I wasted no time in uploading the short sale offer and responding to the counter in Equator. I did my job as usual, including selling that home in record time. So what was different this time that I didn’t want to poke out my eyes with a stick?
It wasn’t a true HAFA, now that I stop to think about it. Oh, yeah, the tenants are getting a check for $3,000, but the seller is also getting some money. The seller is getting more money than the tenants. I’m calling it a hybrid short sale — a combination HAFA short sale and HIN Incentive — which is like a Cooperative Short Sale but it’s not. That’s the best explanation. But not the only explanation.
The other part is the third-party vendor for Bank of America wasn’t one of my usual assignments. There’s an entire smorgasbord of acronym vendors who handle the HAFA and Cooperative Short Sales for Bank of America. Definitely was not one of those. It was Service Link. I’ve worked with Service Link in the past, and they are so responsive. It’s almost like they were raised on another planet.
The guys at Service Link are trained. They are professional. They know how to communicate. They do what they say they are going to do. In short, they must be German. They do their job efficiently. And they do it remarkably well, especially in comparison to those other guys.
I’m still slapping my face to wake up. Six weeks, start to finish, for a Bank of America HAFA short sale. I feel like admitting, yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
