Daytona Real Estate Training

What a mess! I think we're going to see a lot of this stuff happening. I hope your sellers get it straightened out soon.

Thank you for sharing- I'm sure the title agency has been nervous, too, especially if they've issued a policy in connection with the closing... geez, what a mess!

I thought I had experienced everything B of A could do wrong.  But no this is one more I have not experienced.   Crazy

Midori - BofA is the worst, yet there are several others close behind.  While I understand that the situation did overwhelm them, they seemed to have made no moves towards correction.

Its a mess but we are getting it straightened out...the title company is an exceptional company when it comes to short sales...I emailed her last night this morning...she sent some helpful tips and the satisfaction of mortgage...among other docs to be forwarded to the seller to help in this ridiculous situation.

Monika I agree I think this is going to happen more and more...I'm sorry but banks need better accountability...same old song we sing right?

What a nightmare! I am so sorry!  I keep hearing that Bank of America just cannot get their act together and this has been for some time!  I don't know why this is, but I have warned my clients that it is best to avoid dealing with this bank if they can as their incompetency  is almost guaranteed.

It would seem that Bank of America is getting quite the reputation for being next to impossible to deal with.

John-The seller has been in touch with the bank for the past few months...they told him the statements, calls, etc...etc. are automatic and they will stop but they cannot be stopped.  Finally yesterday the seller got some real answers and that is when they called me.  Remember the seller has been trying to file taxes so they have been in touch with the bank but just like us working short sales....sellers got the run around!

Oh Midori, how stressful to have to go through this.

What would you as a Broker do or a TEAM member left?

Just let the files sit?

I don't think so, sorry NO excuse for this at all.

Definitely a mess.  I have a borrower that they sent to foreclosure because they never closed out an old loan they refinanced.  They have the new loan and still are trying to foreclose even though it was refinanced and the new loan has perfect mortgage history.  We call them continually and they are always looking into it. 

Thanks for the update!  I've got a BOA short sale in process right now.

What a terrible nightmare to have to relive all of that frustration and aggravation all over again -- 5 months later!  Your title is right on, and I REALLY wish that they would get it together!!

Wow!  Fortuntately I have not had to deal with them.  I can say that Chase and a few others are close behind them on this, so it doesn't surprise me.

Did anyone off for the bank at closing or just the seller?  Does B of A even show a record of receiving a pay-off?  Just trying to learn something here.  Sounds like a nightmare....  Just curious, did the seller get the deficiency waived (or hopes to get it waived...)?  Just doing my own unscientific survey.

Oops, should have said "did anyone sign off for the bank at closing.  Sorry.

What a horrible situation for you all: you've really got to feel for the sellers. Fortunately they have you and have some financial saavy of their own, but what an unnecccessary nightmare!

Midori- Not only do the seller have to deal with this $%i& and stupidity they have to take time out of their day and life to deal with this! And you are so lucky that they like you because the first place they will go and scream is at their agent saying the agent dropped the ball. Thank goodness they believe you! But BofA is the worst bank of all time! And they continue to go back to the pot to get more bail out money, disgusting! 

Not had this happen yet...but nothing surprises me anymore you would think sending them their own release letter might ring a few bells...but then, that would nbe common sense...common sense...lender...same sentence...ewwww !

OMG.  Why am I not surprised?  BofA sucks majorly...........

My frustrations with this institution are very similar to yours!!  They had no business acquiring Countrywides mess and they are loosing a ton of customers during this difficult time!

Midori....Bank of America are the geniuses that foreclosed on the wrong house recently. Opps ! They are in litigation trying to 'splain how they could evict a tenant, put new locks on the doors and just completely turn a home owner inside out....the kicker.........they had the wrong address...the property they "secured" was owned free and clear..........just another B of A story that lands on the bottom of page 33 in the papers.

Even though they approved the short sale, could it be they are still trying to collect on the deficiency? Or maybe they sold the debt to a collection agency who is acting on "behalf of BofA" to collect the deficient debt. I've been told this by the current bank I'm dealing with on a short sale. They said they will approve the sale, but will never give up on collecting the debt. Crazy stuff.

I have a short sale with Bank of America that is now on the 10th month of negotiating.  We have had 3 appraisals done and we have been assigned our 4th negotiator.  They have closed the file 3 times due to lack of paperwork that they have in fact had.  I agree thay need to get their $#&@ together.  It amazes me how much money they blow due to all the red tape. 

this is crazy...i have one question: they aren't still reporting lates to the credit bureaus are they?

You said:

So far the explanation is that the Negotiator who had this file...no longer works for them...someone dropped the ball but they have never seen anything like this before...and they are not sure what to do......and the seller will just have to be patient. 

They gave me the same excuse when they called a month after closing and asked if the transaction closed. Escrow sent them confirmation of funding to their account etc....hopefully it's the last I'll hear.

I think Bank of America is one of the worst when it comes to short sales.

Thanks for the "heads-up" Midori.  This is probably something we should alert sellers about.

It's an unfortunate situation for sure, but not one you can do much about... so don't let it get to you.  You've done your job!

Debe Maxwell wrote a blog about her being "in" with Bank of America. Today she has a post about NOT doing short sales when you don't know how. Here's the link:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1526217/if-you-don-t-know-how-to-cook-get-out-of-the-kitchen-

Maybe you should give her a call to see if she has a telephone number of someone that can help?

I can't speak for the entire Realtor community, but the ones I "have" spoken with, share all the same sentiments about BOA. While I have had many problems, I haven't run across this one either!

Midori,

Thanks for sharing this info..!!

Grover Barbaran

Intero Real Estate Services

Silicon Valley, CA

www.GroverB.com

I do a lot of short sales and Bank of America is by far the worst lender to deal with.

Keep us posted - I'd like to know when they FINALLY get it all cleared up and what it took to get it done.

Thanks for sharing!!!

Maybe it is time we notify our Senators and Representatives about this mess. Every time one of us encounters a problem with these 3 main "bad" banks, our elected officials need to be informed. It is partly the crazy laws and rules creating this mess. Maybe if they are bothered with it enough, they can help fix it.

There is no end in site to the problems that Bank of America have.

We just closed on a short sale with them & the attorney informs us the day after the closing that BofA sold the 2nd loan they held on the property right before we closed. 

They informed nobody of it. We found out when the payoff bounced back because they no longer owned it.

The payoff to the new 2nd lienholder was negotiated post-closing with MANY obstacles. It worked out in the end but BofA is the worst- I hate them!!!!!

and BTW, don't try changing your buyer out once you've began a transaction on their new Equator system- you go back to Square 1. Worst bank ever!!!!

I don't think you ever have to worry about Bank of America getting their Act together....not going to happen.

It's amazing that one comapny can dominate the talk of botched transactions. I don't even have to ask anymore when someone tells me about mortgage problems. They are almost always related to BOA.

Midori tells the story.......quite well. The rest of us confirm it and that is what is going on. Banks loan money and have built a world around that concept. Well lo and behold, the whole system has collapsed and they do not know what to do. Once more, they do not care. We agents are really teaching them as we do deals. How do they reward us? By being hard to get a hold of, not returning calls or emails, losing paperwork and working outside of any professional time frame. When questioned about all this, we get whoppers of excuses from an industry who could formerly not tolerate any. If you don't pay, you don't stay was their banner and foreclosure was their choice of weapon. Why they are not doubling up on their hiring and raising the bar in their own industry is a mystery to me. Meanwhile, the lenders loot their own companies from the top through bonuses and commissions while they look for bail-out subsidies from the government. This is one of the most irresponsible businesses in operation today. Agents, without us, the whole thing would be ten times worse.

Good post and thank you

This sounds like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.  I have 3 BOA short sales going right now.  Let's hope that this is a paper snafu.  What a nightmare

I sit in our weekly staff meetings and hear story after story of how messed up BofA is and how difficult they are to work with.   I feel for the buyers and sellers that must tolerate this bank's lack of professional due dilligence.  Thank heavens you have a good relationship with your sellers Midori!

Poor sellers. That is unacceptatble. BOA needs to take responsibility and fine turn thier practices. My heart goes out to the seller in this situation. I wish them all the luck.

Seems like every time we as agents turn around there is a new disaster waiting to happen.  Thanks for the alert on this potential problem.

What a horrible situation.  Having to go through the process once sell and then prove that you are no longer "on the hook".  Make sure they monitor their credit closely and that all BOFA reporting is correct with respect to the mortgage. ~Doug

Typical B of A short-sale encounter...I agree with one of the previous post concerning contacting our lawmakers and making them listen because Bank of America is out of control!

Thanks for the heads up which serves to remind each of us that we can't be too sure about anything with a short sale!  Sounds like your Sellers might need to seek legal counsel if it's not cleared up soon!

BofA has to be the worst ever! All I ever hear about is problems. 

Amazing.  I'm GLAD (bet they are too) they have you as their agent -- and that you're sharing the story here.

Glad that they had you to turn to and be able to assist - with the original - successful short sale and now with the follow up/

You know their bullsh-t just keeps on piling up...we had two negotiators just get up and quit and no one knew about it until we called for two months...they finally found the file under some cobwebs.....and of course they have to foreclose on someones house in Tampa and the people didn't even have a mortgage with them...they paid cash...they really should be ashamed of themselves...I don't even feel sorry for them....jerks!

Bank of America has always lacked in the customer service department.  Even before the recession!  I cringe every time I hear B of A.  Too bad I had a Countrywide loan!!!!!

Typical of BOA.  Our office is working on 2 short sale with them and it has been nightmarish!

Wow!  Amazing how BOA continues to find creative ways to make the headlines in a negative way.  This is just too bad.

I have seen a lot of this too and just closed one last week with B of A.  Will have to watch out, thank you for sharing.

Didn't Bank Of America absorb Countrywide Home Loans? Seems like they have become worse with their loss mitigation department. We had one where the 1st trust was with BOA as well as the 2nd trust. Should have made it easier right? WRONG! The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

Midori...

We make an offer on a BOA short sale in August. We got a counter yesterday for six thousand more thatn our offer.

You would think that after nine months, they would not worry about a measly six grand but they could care less. They are impossible to deal with!

WOW! What a story. This one is hard to believe.Thanks for sharing

Tony

Wow Midori, your Clients were lucky to have you to help them wade through the %^&*.

Midori,

That's a heck of a testament to how abysmal BOA handles their short sales. Your's in another in a long line of BOA screw ups.

Rich

Why am I NOT surprised that this has to do with BOFA...i can imagine how you must have felt getting that phone call. I especially feel bad for the sellers who just want to move on...please keep us posted on how long it takes to get this one figured out...good luck...

There should be a direct line for real estate professionals to speak with the correct personel early on so we aren't getting shuffled around like you mentioned. I think that might make things too easy, which the bank wouldn't want of course! 

Just incredible! Has anyone sent this to the FL attorney general? The AG in NY state was able to create some serious friction as a result of "problems"... Perhaps the Florida AG can tackle this and also make a run for governor, based on the (let's hope!) success in reeling in the clueless folks at BofA

This is so typical of BOA that it does not surprise me at all.  I gave them over 3 months to correct an error on my file and after being promised that it would be fixed next week, next week even after escalating I finally gave up and sent the CEO a letter with the payments that were being returned and told him to fix it since no one in his company could "fix it" after 3 months.  I still have not heard from anyone in the Executive office but after a while you just give up trying to work within the system.

The employee's don't care...apparently there is no retribution for not doing your job in that company or else the pay is so little that employees don't feel like going out of there way to resolve issues.

Midori - this goes right along with the house BOA foreclosed in which the owner owned their home free and clear. I'm glad you were there for them all the way and they had the sense of what to do. Thanks for sharing.

Thats pretty crazy. I have not heard of this every happening.  I'm amazed....

Florida, how horrible.  Since they got clear title & title insurance it probably DID close, it's just that B of A hasn't yet removed the file from their records properly.....

Regina P. Brown

Evening Midori,  Call a friend at the local media ouitlet !  They will eat this story up bigtime !

Thanks for saying what the rest of us our thinking. Many banks are getting on board with short sales but I find that Bank of America is falling down in a big way. I have seen them stonewall a deal because they are hold second position and will not be reasonable on their cash out position. Even when the appraisals come in they still are trying to extort more money. Shame on Them.

I had this same thing happen a couple years ago with Countrywide (now BofA). They serviced the first and owned the second and they kept trying to collect on the second after the short sale closed. They never did acknowledge that there was a problem but the calls did finally stop.

I think politicians would certainly be interested in this.  Now I'm aware of it too!

Thank you,

Richard Acree

Comments in this blog posting are the copyrighted intellectual property of Richard Acree, President, HABITEC Home and Building Inspections, LLC, and contributing members of the Active Rain Real Estate network, and are intended to educate and otherwise assist home owners, sellers and buyers, building owners, sellers and buyers, realtors, real estate investors, property managers, and lenders in the process of owning, buying or selling homes or commercial buildings.  HABITEC is a residential (home) and commercial building inspection company serving Middle Tennessee including Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Dickson, Belle Meade, Columbia, Spring Hill and more!  In addition to building inspections HABITEC offers Environmental Services for mold assessments, radon testing and water quality analysis.  Additional information about HABITEC can be found on our website at http://www.habitecinspections.com, or call 615-376-2753. 

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What a crazy messed up situation.  And the worst part is that there is nothing that can be done...is there???

Sounds like a mess, hope you can sort it out

Hi Midori -- Wow, just when you thought you've heard it all. 

Hi Midori-

What a horrifying story.  i can only imagine how traumatic this is and what a nuisance to try to untangle.  Shouldn't the transferred deed be enough?

--Sara

3rd attempt to post a comment...

Hi Everyone!  Thanks for all of the input..some really great thoughts here...thanks for the feature too...my 100th :)  A couple of things....

• It seems that this post has stirred up all kinds of emotions...and I think we should not waste them...meaning we as a group are so powerful and Amy triggered a thought in my head...so look for a follow up post...

• According to the seller...he spoke with someone and they pulled the file...it appears everything is there, a complete file with all required docs to close the file...they just have not closed because the negotiator does not work for BOA and they have never come acrossed this before.  That means payoff was included.
  
• We don't need the government to throw money at them...we need some of these bank activities regulated. 
  
• Shortsales should be completed online just like REOS and Foreclosures..how hard would that be?
• Seller is waiting on 1099 so taxes can be filed...have no idea if they will waive the defiency
• this is the same bank who changed locks and secured the property before we listed it and the seller had been talking to them from the time they were late on their first payment and it still continues, the same bank who had to recieve the same package 3 times because it went to fax heaven, and the shortsale was delayed because the supervisors wife had a baby...you gotta love it...pathetic...and they handle billions of dollars of other people's money...scary. 
  
• When it comes to shortsales I believe the banks should not allow just anyone to address the issues with REALTORS...consumers on the phone...I think they should have only highly trained and skilled people handling them..period. 

I am really stirred up over this...if this seller was unreasonable..or highly emotional this could have become ugly and another issue could arise.  You know the blame game or having to prove it was a bank error not in their favor.   

When the seller called last night..it was as if he was afraid to tell me...he must have said I have something to tell you 3 or 4 times...maybe trying to brace himself to tell me or preparing me for some bad news with him.  It was as if he felt bad to bother me...all I could think of was why him..he is the nicest guy and one of my all time favorite customers I have ever had and one of my closest friends.

Patrick you triggered some thoughts as well....the seller reads my blogs so I am sure he will see it...hey how do you think he found me? :)

This is surreal...After going through the agony of a short sale, now they face yet more grief. So much for the banks getting their act together.

Recommend seller also keeps an eye on their 1099 for accuracy when they eventually get it....another problematic area!

More headaches for homeowners who have already been through enough trouble and stress. I hope you're able to get it worked out soon.

Midori - Just when you thought BofA had @#%!^ up everything, they step up and top themselves again. I hope your friends are able to settle this issue soon. Best wishes!

Matt

Oh my.. what a goofy mess.. Always a first for everything. I hope they get this taken care of soon... Now what about they buyers ? Are they making payments to their lender during this process ? Was the property transfered at the register of deeds office ? I'm sure many more questions could be asked on this one.

When the transaction closed it got recorded and the trust deed must have been satisfied.  I'm sure the title company can provide the necessary documentation.  I would not be to concerned about this and would convey this to the buyer.  Lastly, the chance of this happening is so remote that I would not want to warn the world this might happen again.  Possible but highly unlikely.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love the banks.

Unfortunately this doesn't surprise me.

Tell your seller to tell B of A to go ahead and foreclose.  See what happens when they serve the new owner of the house, or if they try to put a foreclosure on the credit report of someone who does not own the house.  Also, a 1099 is not like a W-2, you do not have to have it to file your taxes.

Seems that this bank's name just keeps coming up over and over again -- and it's never good news. Boo BOA!!!

This is really amazing to me. But then again I have a BofA story too... maybe worth a post

your friend in Charlottesville

I guess as long as the government helps  BOA is really too big to fail. Without the government, BOA would surely fall! Scary situation...

Fortunately we haven't seen that happen to any of our clients.  Perhaps an email to Brian Moynihan would fix it quickly?

I am also having problems with B.O.A., almost same story, and my clients are getting scare about the situation. Also the buyer is getting letter of "Forclosure" notice!.

What a mess for the sellers...I really feel sorry for them that Bank of America can't get their %&#t  together.

OMG!  I have to stop reading these horror stories.  They make my stomach hurt.

But, who can look away from this train wreck?

What a mess.

Fortunately for you a relationship was built.

Part of the problem is banks like the government could care less, and unfortunately the service part of it shows.

Imagine if you did business like most banks do lol

Enjoy you're day

Sounds to me like the neverending nightmare. I am shocked you got that far with a short sale considering it was BOA....

I think that it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out why the American Financial System is in the mess it is in!  Rediculous!!  Hope it all works out for them!

I have a Bank of America transaction that closed last fall as a short sale. The seller was current. She stayed current on her payments throughout because she wanted to protect her credit rating. Last month she went to the bank to get a student financial aid loan and was told Bank of America filed a Notice of Default because the seller had stopped making her payments. Yeah, she stopped making her payments because the loan was paid off through the short sale department, but that department didn't close out the file.

I have never seen anything as bad as that lender.  I have so many horror stories, I lost count.

Midori,

As with your case, (short sale), we have all become accustom to BOA nightmares.  What is really disturbing is that it never seens to get better.  Always another excuse.  BOA has to have to poorest trained staff in the business, or should I say non-trained.

Countrywide was awful- when BOA acquired them they took the torch of being one of the more frustrating companies to deal with. I feel your pain. I'd like to splash cold water over them and remind them that people's lives are involved here. 

Typical of BoA, their service and their organization.  I'm shocked when a buyers agent refers a buyer to BoA.  Thank goodness we have a way to let eachother know what is happening so we can all learn.  I'm so sorry you and your seller are going through this.  Thank you for sharing your experience.

Although rare, it does happen with other lenders as well. However, it is an easy fix. Just submit the signed final HUD along with the approval letter and the issue is easily resolved.

Another great example of a large firm without continuity. Yes, they need to get their "stuff" together!

How about Bank of America losing a 2nd morgage! Yes that's correct they lost it. The deal has been going since October of 2008!!! I think I am going to have the record for the longest closing wait ever. Believe it or not the buyer has stuck through it all.

Whoa that is crazy....I hope your title company is on the ball & reconveyed & did all that important title stuff.  Thanks for sharing.

Bill Gassett wrote, "I think I am going to have the record for the longest closing wait ever.

Bill, For your sake I hope you don't, but just to let you know, we went over 540 days with Wamu/Chase - and they had BOTH LOANS!  Not the same buyer, though.

I cant even begin to tell you the horror story I have with Bank of America on a loan modification as well as on 2 of my clients short sales.

And Bank of America gets bail out money on the back of us tax payers - yet mismanages operations daily. Can you say Fleecing of America?

I have worked hard and long and finally got an approval with a BAC short sale.  Now that I have been assigned a negotiator thru Equator I thought it would go smoothly.  Does anyone know how to negotiate the removal of the deficency judgement from the short sale approval letter.  They wont return my emails nor my phone calls.

I have been dealing with a BOFA short sale since Nov.6. I literally felt like everytime I called them I was on SNL or Candid Camera. I was guaranteed to be told to do something else other than what I had previosly been told. When the file went to Equator in Jan. I had to send in all of the same docs, financials again and we started from square one (third time, as they had already lost them once before).

We now have had a counter offer and the buyer accepted. I hope and pray this means a closing may be near. I do know that this experience has made me swear off all short sale transactions in the future!

Short sales with Bank of America are like pulling teeth.  Unfortunately they have one of the longest approval times in the industry, and the new Equator system has only helped SOME!  Lets see if they can get it to TEN days like they are supposed to!  We have a great group to discuss short sales with BOA:

http://www.theshortsaleguide.com/group/bankofamerica

I have had the same experience.  Closed and funded November 30th, 2009.  BOA in North Carolina signed for the fundsDec. 4th, 2009.  Jan the seller received another statement so he began calling in.  The told him his account was still waiting for approval.  Funny considering our approval letter was only good till Nov. 30th and we closed on Nov. 30th.  After the homeowner, myself and the title company calling in time and time again they mysteriously finally applied the payment March 11thm 2010.  Yes 4 months later!  Now they are telling him it will take30-60 days to close the account.  I think these idiots don't have a clue and neither does this Chris S. character at Equator.  The over promise and under deliver.  It's quite a shame that we have educated adults that are unemployed throughout America yet people like BOA employees actully have a job and get a paycheck.  Whoever doesn't think this is politcal is in denial. 

They ought t be ashamed of themselves. 

Thanks for this post. I am going to feature it on my face book fan page! http://www.facebook.com/reallybankofamericareally