West Sacramento Short Sale Information: January 2013

Thursday, January 31, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information – Fannie Mae Greentree Short Sale MADNESS

Looking for West Sacramento short sale information? You have come to the right place. Mike Rigley Certified Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expert and your short sale specialist here thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about our recent Greentree Short Sale.

Now you won’t find many West Sacramento Short Sale Specialists say this but I like working Greentree Short Sales. Ok there I said it. Hey the folks at Greentree are just doing their job and so am I.

Our recent adventure with a Greentree Short Sale was going along just like clockwork. We submitted a very clean Greentree Short Sale specific short sale package, had an at fair market value offer and the sellers had a true hardship. Should have been a no brainer Greentree Short Sale approval right? WRONG. Fannie Mae was the investor on this loan and lately whenever Fannie Mae is involved things go sideways. Not to be disappointed Fannie Mae was able to nearly screw this Greentree Short Sale up too.

As is the case with Fannie Mae these days they countered our Greentree Short Sale 20% above fair market value. Fortunately the price on the property was so low the property still cash flowed as a rental and the cash buyer was able to come to Fannie Mae’s inflated price.

No reason not to close this Greentree Short Sale then right? WRONG again. Fannie Mae came back and closed the Greentree Short Sale file because the seller was on disability – REALLY?? Why the heck did Fannie Mae think the seller had requested the Greentree Short Sale in the first place? It was like having a battle of the wits with an unarmed person.

As we are known to do, when Fannie Mae closed our Greentree Short Sale file we escalated the file directly to Fannie Mae. They must be swamped with escalations these days for moronic acts like this one because we ended up escalating several times before we got our response.

Fortunately smarter heads prevailed and Fannie Mae approved the file allowing us to close the Greentree Short Sale and help yet another family get out from under their over encumbered mortgage with no liability for the unpaid debt and likely no responsibility for the income taxes on the forgiven debt.

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

To get a better idea of when your West Sacramento home will be worth what you owe, log in to www.shortsaleandloanmod.info for a free estimate or call me today for a free no obligation consultation or for the latest West Sacramento short sale information. Call me today and sleep better tonight; you’ll be glad you did.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - Wells Fargo Short Sale Success

West Sacramento Short Sale Specialist, Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expert and West Sacramento Short Sale Agent Mike Rigley here bringing you the latest West Sacramento Short Sale Information. Thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about our recent Wells Fargo Short Sale Success.

Here was a case where Wells Fargo was the servicer and Fannie Mae was the investor. This Wells Fargo Short Sale should have been a slam dunk. We listed the property and received a fair market value offer in no time. With a complete Wells Fargo Short Sale package submitted and an appraisal at fair market value we thought we were golden and looking like we would receive approval in less than 30 days.

Did I mention this was also a Fannie Mae file? And there is the rest of the story. Fannie Mae countered our offer as is their practice recently 20% above fair market value. Now really, who is going to pay 20% more than something is worth especially a house right?

Well as we expected the buyer withdrew leaving us stuck with an over-priced listing. Knowing it is my job to get this home sold, I lowered the price several times from what Fannie Mae was looking for. Once we got the price to where it should be we received an offer I thought we could make work.

With a complete Wells Fargo Short Sale package submitted and a recent appraisal on the property our Wells Fargo Short Sale file was promptly sent through the channels and low and behold the Wells Fargo Short Sale was approved in less than 40 days. Life is good.

Once again we were able to overcome adversity and help another family get out from under a home where they owed more than twice what it was worth, getting a fresh start financially.

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - CalHFA Short Sale Approval in 32 Days

Mike Rigley Certified Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expert and your short sale specialist here thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about a recent CalHFA Short Sale we got approved in 32 days

Yep you heard me right 32 days. Great story here. Now anyone who knows me knows I love working on CalHFA Short Sales. The folks at CalHFA are great people. In this particular case CalHFA was the investor and Guild Mortgage was the servicer. I enjoy working on Guild Short Sales as well.

This young family had a bonafide hardship, they were behind in their payments and had nowhere else to turn. We met at their kitchen table one evening and it was apparent we could help them. Within 10 days we had the property listed and after selecting one of the seven offers we received we ready to submit the Guild Short Sale package.

Having worked on CalHFA Short Sales and Guild Short Sales in the past we knew to submit the specific Guild Short Sale package. We naturally had one in our vast library of Bank Specific Short Sale forms.

We submitted a complete Guild Short Sale Package, were assigned a negotiator pronto and the appraisal was ordered. Now one of the reasons we like working Guild Short Sales is the folks over there are just great to work with. Our negotiator was right on top of the file and kept us updated long the way.

With a complete Guild Short Sale package, an offer at or above fair market value and true seller hardship this file came back from the MI Company and investor in record time. Next up – get the escrow closed bit that story is for another time…

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Monday, January 28, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - Chase / Freddie Mac Short Sale

Mike Rigley Certified Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expert and your short sale specialist here thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about a recent Chase / Freddie Mac Short Sale we are involved in.

Here is a story about a nice family who came to me a short while back. They had been in a Chase Short Sale for more than a year with no results. Their listing agreement had expired and the previous Short Sale Agent was nowhere to be found. While I was pretty sure I could help them, we had a Foreclosure Sale Date scheduled for just over 30 days from them so I knew we had to move fast. With a Freddie Mac Short Sale there has to be enough time for the investor to review the file before they go through the expense of postponement and here is where our story lies.

We submitted the complete Chase Short Sale file directly to the Chase Short Sale department. As luck would have it after a couple of days Chase decided to track the file through their on-line platform Equator. We loaded the file and all Chase Short Sale supporting documents into Equator and diligently followed up the file. During our follow up calls we were assured numerous times that the file was complete and the appraisal had been ordered. We called Chase Short Sale department several times each week to confirm we had yet to be contacted by the appraiser. After about 10 business days of this run around and only 2 weeks until the foreclosure sale date we were notified that Freddie Mac had closed the short sale file and was moving to foreclose.

Now those of you who know me know we aren’t going to sit still while a nice family is unnecessarily foreclosed on. Not one to mince words we escalated the file directly to Freddie Mac though our extensive list of escalation contacts explaining that the delays were not caused by the homeowner and we were not only able to get the file re-opened, but also get the pending foreclosure sale date postponed several months while the file is evaluated.

Now we are not out of the woods yet but it just goes to show you that perseverance is key in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Saturday, January 19, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - Bank of America Service Released Short Sale

Mike Rigley Certified Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expert and your short sale specialist here thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about a Bank of America Service Released Short Sale.

I should have known in the beginning that this Bank of America Short Sale was going to be a challenge. It started with the negotiator insisting on documentation and details never requested before or since on a Bank of America Short Sale. After escalating the file several times to get her back on track it became very obvious she was going to make us pay for escalating above her head even though each time she was dead wrong and doing the client and Bank of America a huge disservice.

Fortunately the file was re-assigned and we were able to process the file as it normally should be handled. We were approved for the Bank of America Short Sale and the seller was scheduled to receive $3,000 in relocation assistance. And as Paul Harvey used to say, and then the rest of the story…

We received the approval letter with less than two weeks to close the escrow. When I asked the Bank of America Short Sale negotiator she said “oh, I forgot to tell you, the loan servicing has been sold and if you can’t close by then the loan will be transferred”. ARGH! That would have been good information to know several weeks prior. When the loan is service releasedyou generally have to start the process all over again with the new lender.

As luck would have it, the seller had already moved out, the buyer had already completed their inspections and the buyer was paying cash. Working with a great agent representing the buyers we were able to meet the Bank of America Service Release deadline and close the escrow before the loan was transferred.

Once again we were able to help a nice young family get out from under more than $400,000 in debt, receive relocation assistance, avoid foreclosure and get a fresh financial start with no obligation for the unpaid debt or liability for the income taxes on the forgiven debt. What a huge victory for these folks.

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Thursday, January 17, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - US Bank Short Sale success

Mike Rigley Certified Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expertand your short sale specialist here thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about another US Bank Short Sale success.

The more I work with the good folks at US Bank the more I like them. Our first couple of US Bank Short Sales were quite honestly pretty rocky. They took multiple high level escalations and lots of tough love to get approved. I was not loving the idea of another US Bank Short Sale when we took this one on.

When this US Bank Short Sale started out I was again having my doubts. We had an out of town seller with limited technology resources so fax was their main way of getting documentation to us. Add to that the distance, busy schedule of the seller, the level of detail US Bank requires and oh did I mention this was also a Freddie Mae loan – well now you see the mess we had.

We were able to battle our way through it and once we finally had all of the documentation from the seller the transaction went a little smoother, but honestly this was no cake walk. We had multiple negotiators at US Bank and in the end the last one was more than patient and understanding of the situation.

With her help and understanding we were able to get the short sale approved with Freddie Mac releasing all rights to seek a deficiency on the unpaid balance and with the extension of the Debt Forgiveness Act the seller will be able to avoid paying income taxes on the forgiven debt.

We have a couple more Short Sales going with US Bank right now and I am pleased to say they are going very well all things considered.

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - RCS / Wells Fargo / Fannie Mae Short Sale

West Sacramento Short Sale Specialist Mike Rigley here bringing you the latest West Sacramento Short Sale Information. Thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about our recent RCS /Wells Fargo / Fannie Mae Short Sale.

This past week we received our approval on this Short Sale. It was a Residential Credit Solutions serviced, Fannie Mae owned first and a Wells Fargo HELOC second. It was critical to the seller to remain current while the short sale was in process. We initiated the short sale back in mid-September however even though we had successfully competed Fannie Mae Short Sales with the borrower remaining current, RCS would not submit the file to Fannie Mae for review while the seller was current. Since it was mid-October when they declined the file, rather than escalate directly to Fannie Mae we waited two weeks and re-submitted the file based on Fannie Mae’s new guidelines stating the homeowner just to only be at risk of eminent default which these folks certainly were.

With the file re-submitted November 1st I have to say we threw RCS for a loop. Not fully aware of the revised guidelines, which is scary in itself, RCS took a week or so to confirm the file did meet Fannie Mae’s guidelines. While it took us right around 60 days to get the approval, which is longer than usual, we did receive short sale approval and relocation assistancefor this borrower.

The Wells Fargo second was more than helpful and issued the approval on the second within 10 business days of receiving the approval letter from the first.

Once again all’s well that ends well. Now we still have to close the escrow and there can always be turbulence in that process, but for the most part this family will avoid foreclosure, avoid the credit impact of missing payments, get $3000 in relocation assistance and most importantly get a fresh start financially.

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - CalHFA Short Sale Success

Mike Rigley Certified Default Advocate, Distressed Property Expert and your short sale specialist here thank you for joining us. Today let’s talk about another CalHFA Short Sale Success.

Truth be told many West Sacramento Short Sale Specialists don’t like to handle CalHFA Short Sales. Call me crazy but I love CalHFA Short Sales and here’s why. The folks that work at and manage the CalHFA loss mitigation department are some of the nicest people in the Short Sale business. Treat them like you want to be treated and amazing how well the transaction goes – huh, who’d of thunk.

This particular CalHFA Short Sale involved a nice young couple who bought a cozy two bedroom in Old Roseville at the peak of the market.

Like many families their situation changed and wanted to take advantage of the soon to be expiring Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act if at all possible. Because they did not have real strong hardship they delayed initiating the Short Sale Process until it was almost too late. Now West Sacramento Short Sale Specialists who have worked with CalHFA before know that the process is a little longer than a traditional West Sacramento Short Sale and this was no exception. With December 31st rapidly approaching and no extension to the MFDRA and no approval we were all more than just a little nervous to say the least. As it turns out we received the CalHFA Short Sale approval on the same day as the MFDRA was extended. What a great day for this young couple. What a great way for them to start the year. They are now less than 30 days away from closing the escrow and getting a fresh start to their financial lives. Was it a slam dunk CalHFA Short Sale – No. Did we have to work hard to get it done – absolutely. But in the end all that hard work paid off and we are proud to be a part of helping these great folks

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

Monday, January 14, 2013

West Sacramento Short Sale Information - Ocwen Short Sale Escalations

I get calls from all over the country regarding short sales from homeowners and consumers alike. This past week I got a call from an agent in Arizona who was at his wits end with Ocwen. Now many agents don’t like to work with Ocwen but I do. If you understand their process it can be one of the easiest West Sacramento Short Sales we do. Ok, back to the story.

As I said this agent was at his wits end. The Ocwen call center is in India and there can be a language barrier from time to time. This agent had tried everything and finally Googled Ocwen Short Sales, saw one of my videos and called looking for help. We talked about his file for a couple of mines and I referred him to a couple of our contacts at Ocwen.

Now, here’s the best part. I got another call from him the next day. He was excited. Within 24 hours of contacting one of ourOcwen resources he had the revised approval letter in hand, and is now in the process of closing the escrow and saving another homeowner from foreclosure.

What a great feeling to be able to reach out and help another Short Sale Specialist and a family I don’t even know avoid foreclosure. Life is good. Did I get paid – No, and that’s the important part. As a Certified Default Advocate it’s abouthelping homeowners wherever they are. Do enough right things and the rewards will follow.

Is a West Sacramento Short Sale Right for Me?

To get a better idea of when your West Sacramento home will be worth what you owe, log in to www.shortsaleandloanmod.info for a free estimate or call me today for a free no obligation consultation or for the latest West Sacramento short sale information. Call me today and sleep better tonight; you’ll be glad you did.