In the last several months we have seen a pattern emerge; first with our Freddie Mac files and now, predictably, with our Fannie Mae short sale files. As you know the requirement for most short sales is that the Seller must be at least 31 days late on the loan payments prior to being able…
So according to several whistle blowers that used to work at BOA, it turns out that the BOA reps in the Loss Mitigation Department were paid cash bonuses to shut files down and move them on towards foreclosure. Shocked? I’m not. My staff just smiled and nodded when we read this. That is because we…
I have heard real estate law described as “happy law.” That actually makes sense because in a normal real estate closing there may be some bickering over curtains but in the end the buyer is getting the house and the seller is receiving money. In a short sale, however, it is important to understand that…
In a short sale it is always a good idea to close as quickly as possible. Just because you have an approval letter with a green light to close by a certain date does not mean that things won’t change. The bank will usually honor the terms of the approval as long as it closes…
Sometimes a reminder is needed about an unfortunate fact that we all have to live with: The bank drives the bus, not us……not the seller, buyer, agent or attorney. We are asking the bank/investor to take a loss on this loan and for that they get the keys. Our job is to keep everything moving…
I have already written about the buyer getting the home inspection done earlier instead of later. The absolute best way to handle the home inspection for a short sale, however, is for the Seller to get a pre-inspection before putting it on the market…or at least before there is an offer. If the Seller does…
Ok, maybe short sales won’t save the planet (does that mean that I don’t really need to finish designing my superhero outfit for Captain Short Sale, or maybe The Mighty Short Sale Warrior? I was kind of digging the yellow cape). Anyway, short sales may not stop a speeding train or fix our banking system…
If you have not had to negotiate with a Home Owner Association (HOA) regarding past HOA dues in order to get a short sale closed, well you haven’t lived. It is, seriously, one of the more frustrating tasks that we have to handle. It seems that more than half of the HOAs have some hard…
The mantra for a Buyer should be WHAT IS THE FASTEST WAY TO GET MY OFFER APPROVED AND THIS SHORT SALE CLOSED. There is a long track of hurdles to get over between the offer and closing. That list includes: 1) document collection; 2) package compilation and submission (sometimes multiple times); 3) document review and…
In North Carolina we now have a Due Diligence Period that can be negotiated and put in the Offer to Purchase and Contract (Offer to Purchase). We could have done it with the old contract but it is now a prominent part of the new Offer to Purchase. In a short sale situation, however, the…