Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Short sales made easy

Check this article out

Wachovia, a Wells Fargo company, is among the first major lenders to create an aggressive, proactive short-sale program. While the company continues to process borrower-directed short-sale offers, it has also launched a pre-approved, lender-directed approach that results in greater file velocity.

As a portfolio lender, Wachovia is not hamstrung by investors or others making the decisions on short-sale approvals on its World Savings and Golden West Financial portfolios, which are the focus of this pilot program. Wachovia does not pre-select or direct any particular listing agent to work with borrowers for obvious liability-associated reasons. The company encourages its borrowers to interview at least three agents and select the one with whom they feel the most comfortable.

Pivotal differences of the Wachovia pilot program include the following:

•No hardship letter, pay stubs or financial statements are required.
•Negotiators approve or counter offers within seven to 10 days after the offer is received.
•There is no requirement for delinquent borrowers to have experienced a hardship.
•Generous cash-for-keys payments are used to gain borrowers’ cooperation.
•The listing agent is involved to develop a pre-approved strike price at which the property would likely be sold (much like the REO process). If a property doesn’t sell at the pre-approved price, reductions may be requested until offers are received.
•The amount of the outstanding loan is not a factor in determining the list price. Unlike many lenders, Wachovia is focused solely on the economic benefit of short sales.
Other major lenders, including GMAC, have implemented or are about to implement more aggressive short-sale programs, as well. Some companies are far better at managing short sales than others, but all of them should focus on proactive communication, adequate staffing and training in order to streamline the short-sale process for both borrower-requested and lender-directed short sales.

GMAC has a special unit called “The Counsel to Sell Team” within its short-sale department that proactively contacts borrowers who have been denied loan modifications. The unit conducts outbound calling and mail campaigns to entice borrowers to consider a short sale, and GMAC reports a higher rate of success through this proactive approach

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4 comments:

ocholdout said...

Ok, Now lets go all the way. Post a list of homes and prices on a web site. Pre-qualify buyers and let them bid on the properties. Cut out the middlemen.

FairEconomist said...

They're trying to determine if they can survive. This kind of program will get the bank the most money it can get for the mortgages, but it also means the bank has to recognize the losses it's incurred. No more kicking the can with REO inventory valued at bank wishing prices or ignored 6-month delinquencies. Since it's a pilot program Wachovia won't have to take all its losses, just the ones in the program, but they can project onto their entire portfolio to estimate the eventual outcome for the company.

Unknown said...

The flippers are still at it:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Oak-Hills/11445-Oak-Ridge-Dr-92344/home/4194664

This place sold for $380k last April it is now listed at $449k. It appears to be empty still so I'm guessing someone bought it last year with dollar signs in their eyes and are now trying make a quick profit. I don't think that anything is selling up there for anywhere near the asking price however.

golfer_X said...

Flippers usually turn em a lot quicker than that. Could be a flipper but that would be unusual for them to hold a property that long. The profit is eaten up in holding costs. There are a lot of flips popping up though. Most of them are just new paint, new carpet and add $150k to the purchase price.