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Insight Into a Green Tree Short Sale in Sacramento
I know a Sacramento short sale agent or two who will not work on a Green Tree short sale, but I manage to get these short sales accepted. I will admit that it’s a bit easier when Green Tree is in first position (and perhaps just the servicer) than it is when Green Tree is in second position and say, hard money. Especially in California. Because those hard-money second loans carry recourse.
This means if the bank did not approve the short sale and the home went to foreclosure, a second lender may have the right to go after the seller and try to collect if that loan was not purchase money. It’s also a reason that some banks, not necessarily just Green Tree, might think twice about approving a short sale. Because if the bank approves the short sale, the bank needs to release the seller from personal liability. That’s not the case with foreclosure of hard-money loans. Moreover, sometimes banks are paid more money to go to foreclosure.
Green Tree’s policy is to approve a short sale in 90 days. It’s not unusual, depending on the negotiator, for Green Tree to issue the short sale approval letter in a shorter time frame. One of the troubles that can arise is Green Tree, when in second position, might issue short sale approval before the first lender. If the first lender takes too long, that approval from Green Tree can expire. If it expires, Green Tree might not issue an extension. A short sale extension is not always guaranteed, even though some people might think so.
On the other hand, if the short sale approval from Green Tree has expired, it might also send the file to its charge-off department, depending on the length of time that transpired after the last mortgage payment. Once the file gets to the short sale charge-off team, there is no guarantee that the department will accept the same terms as stated in the previous approval letter.
If you’re looking for a short sale agent in the Sacramento Valley to handle your short sale, you should select an agent with vast experience. I’ve sold more than $65 million in short sales since 2006. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
A Sacramento Short Sale Lifespan
For the first time in my life, which is almost since the dawn of humankind, MLS has not immediately loaded on my computer when accessed. I have an internet connection. MetroList is just not responding. It won’t open in Safari nor Firefox. It partially loaded in Firefox and then quit. There is no joy in Mudville; it’s trouble with a capital T that rhymes with P and stands for poop, and the Grinch has stolen Christmas.
We count on things in our life to always be there for us and never change. To work when we expect them to work. But that’s not how life works. Stuff goes wrong. People let us down; they die.
But Sacramento short sales can go on practically forever. I have a few I’ve been working on now for more than a year. A short sale doesn’t die. It doesn’t blow up. It doesn’t just go away and, in some cases, the short sale bank won’t even file a foreclosure notice. It’s not having the Notice of Default filed that can keep a short sale alive and pumping out blood long after the arteries have been sliced.
This is the little known secret that agents don’t realize. Once a bank says NO to an agent, many will give up. Not this Sacramento real estate agent. I keep on pushing until either the seller collapses from exhaustion or the bank says: All right, you got it. Here is your short sale approval. Few sellers are outright rejected in this day and age. This is not 2005, Dorothy.
If you want to work with a Sacramento short sale agent who has closed hundreds of short sales, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. I really doubt you will find an agent in the Sacramento Valley who knows more about short sales.
Is the Third Time a Charm in a Sacramento Short Sale?
There is a saying in the Sacramento short sale business that the third time is a charm. Agents who sell a lot of short sales might chuckle over this statement because it’s absolutely true. We don’t want to sell a home more than once, but sometimes, there is no way around it, no matter what we do. Apart from forcing a buyer we’ve tied to a chair in an empty warehouse to listen to Stuck in the Middle With You, we can’t really interrogate them.
OK, that was just a sick joke. But when you sell a home a third time, that’s where your mind goes and the sellers follow that thought process, too.
As the seller’s listing agent, I do comb through the supporting documentation sent by the buyer’s agents and try to make sense of an offer for my sellers. For example, I recently received a cash offer from an investor with proof of funds attached. In the proof of funds — which was outdated by more than 30 days rendering it unacceptable to a short sale bank — were a series of checks drawn in the sum of $1,000. The funds in the account were barely enough to buy more than one house. What does that tell you? Yeah, they promise they aren’t making other offers, and it’s possible they have a sick relative somewhere they’re routinely sending $1,000 checks to, but I kinda doubt it.
We closed an escrow last week that had been in the works since spring. This was a home in Antelope that was a short sale with two loans, one of which had been discharged, and then a third lien popped up during a title search. This was a judgment against the seller, so the home could not be sold without its release, and the short sale bank sure as heck wasn’t gonna allow payment of that. But I’m used to the tough deals.
We sold the home the first time to a buyer who appeared qualified. After we received short sale approval from both the first, Ocwen, and the second lender, GMAC, the buyers’ lender re-evaluated their financial situation. Somehow, that situation had changed, and the buyers no longer qualified.
We sold the home a second time to a cash buyer who was very eager to close. Somewhere along the line this buyer decided she was paying too much for the home because, after all, she had a sister who bought a home nearby who paid less. Didn’t matter to her that the homes were not comparable to each other, she canceled. Cash buyers can be fickle.
By the third time we sold the home, GMAC, the second lender, had sold the worthless piece of paper to a collection agency, so we had to get a new third party authorization, wait for a new account number to be assigned, and then submit to the new second lender. Plus, the seller had long ago vacated. We figured the judgment creditor would probably now want additional interest, but they were happy just to get paid, thank goodness. We received approval and closed last month, just after we discovered a water leak in the laundry room.
Like I said, the third time is a charm. If you want an agent who will sell that house again and again if need be, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. As a top Sacramento short sale agent, I possess a lot of patience.
A Perfect Storm Short Sale Denied
With the exception of an FHA short sale, I can’t recall the last time this Sacramento short sale agent lost a short sale. Every short sale I do in Sacramento pretty much closes as long as the seller doesn’t give up. It is extremely unusual and rare for a bank to deny a short sale these days. I’ve been selling and negotiating short sales since 2006, so that’s about 8 years, and back when short sales started, maybe half were accepted. Not so today.
Today, it’s about 100% that close, and I’ve closed hundreds of short sales. Because banks generally prefer a short sale vs foreclosure. Properties are most likely in better condition, which helps them sell for more money; and there is a pool of buyers who believe a short sale is a good deal even when it’s not.
To close a short sale, the transaction needs to be a round peg that fits into a round hole. Follow the rules and the short sale is approved.
To over simplify, the basic rules are this:
- Seller must qualify
- Sales price is market value
Sellers often ask me how I know their short sale will be approved, and it’s based on those two factors. But sometimes the investor guidelines stipulate that the bank cannot do a short sale. PSA agreements can make it more profitable for the bank to foreclose. We don’t have access to the PSA agreements as mere real estate agents, so we won’t know for certain whether the PSA will kick out the short sale until a package has been submitted and reviewed.
We can get around that problem by submitting for a HAFA short sale. Most of the banks participate in the HAFA short sale program, as long as the investor is not a government entity. Government-sponsored entities have revamped their own program versions. But when a bank does not participate in HAFA in 2013, that is probably a red flag.
You would think the bank could disclose upfront. You know, read the guidelines and say nope, don’t bother submitting. That would be too intelligent and logical. Two words that don’t describe the American banking system. Instead, they put everybody through the song and dance before slamming hopes.
Closing Tip for a Sacramento short sale
The closing tip for a Sacramento short sale today is brought to you by Pica, the Ocicat, who lives in Land Park with this Sacramento real estate agent. He asked me to shoot his photograph and post it here. He wants to say: “Nation, don’t listen to Stephen Colbert when you can find out everything you need to know about the world from this cat.”
Pica knows a lot about Sacramento short sales. For example, Pica can tell you that when it comes time to close that short sale, you can’t simply sashay into the escrow office to sign documents and close. That’s not how it works, regardless of how many dead fish you drag to the title company’s doorstep.
For one thing, all parties to the short sale, the buyers and sellers will sign closing documents a few days before the actual closing date. Funds need to be deposited into escrow as either cash, certified check or wire, the day BEFORE closing. You cannot write a personal check to the escrow company and expect escrow to close until that check clears the bank, which could take 3 to 7 days.
The most important thing to realize, whether the buyer is obtaining a loan or is paying cash, makes no difference, is escrow cannot close until the final HUD has been approved by the short sale bank. If there are two loans on a short sale, generally approval is required from both of the lenders. Don’t overlook this closing tip for a Sacramento short sale or you won’t close.
Some short sale banks require up to 72 hours to approve the HUD. That means 3 days turnaround. You can’t rush the bank or escalate a Final HUD approval. Lots of people, even mortgage brokers and Sacramento real estate agents, tend to forget about the essential fact. And that’s how a short sale can expire, especially if the closing is intended for the last day of the approval letter. There is no time to pause for an emergency butt lick.
So, don’t be a lazy cat or an uninformed cat. Allow time for that Final HUD approval. Ask your escrow officer how many days it could take to get approval and get your documents to escrow with enough time allotted for Final HUD approval. Here, have a freeze-dried chicken treat. Pica has a nap to take now. He has given you your closing tip for a Sacramento short sale, and his job is done.
