Countrywide Short Sale Process- not exactly moving right along

So, contrary to this post we really are not moving right along with this Countrywide (Bank of America) short sale. We went into contract on May 9th (well actually I guess the seller accepted our offer on May 11th).

I posted about how I felt like we had lots of people on our team all working hard to get the job done but I have since reconsidered. The only person that I know for a fact is working hard to get the job done appears to be my realtor. Again- if you are considering buying a short sale do yourself a favor- get the best buyers realtor you can find.

We got news back on July 16th that our file had been assigned to a phase 2 negotiator (after nearly 60 days at Bank of America) and we were somewhat optimistic. Unfortunately the file has not gone anywhere. Effective this coming Thursday the 13th of August if the file still has had no action we qualify to request an "escalation".

An escalation occurs when Bank of America (Countrywide) has not performed their job within their specific time frame. So in this case the file will have been sitting untouched for 30 whole days. Once you request the escalation the file supposedly goes to a manager to get moving although I am not wholly optimistic that the manager is going to have any less case-load than the person that didn't touch it for thirty days. And as far as I am aware, there are no guaranteed turn times for an escalation. It isn't as if when you request an escalation that you will get some response back within say 72 hours.

So as of right now we have been in contract for about 75 days. We are stuck in that endless loop. I was also originally optimistic because there is a specific short sale processing company that is working for the seller's realtor. They are the ones that are actually negotiating the short sale between the bank and us as buyers- but I have done some research on them and they appear to be a much newer company than I was originally led to believe. I have not been able to locate any sort of comments on them or their success rate except comments that they have made about themselves in various press formats. It appears to me that more than anything they are a marketing company trying to sell the process to realtors- they have this automated database that they use to send out e-mail updates to all parties involved. I must admit, the system is pretty slick. Whether they are actually able to negotiate a short sale in a quick amount of time has yet to be determined. I will refrain from posting their name as of yet but I will guarantee you that I will most definitely post their name once I confirm that they are either able to do their job or they are complete hacks. Whatever did we do before we had the internet?

So to recap here is where we are at:

Day 75 in short sale negotiation with Countrywide (now Bank of America). We are in phase 2 and have been for almost 30 days with no BPO ordered as of yet and no status on when it will be ordered. There is a third party investor on this file (as there are on almost all of Countrywide's files) and also that means that once Bank of America makes the decision it will have to go to that third party for the final say. Incidentally, the 2nd lien-holder (E-loans) fully approved this short sale within 30 days of when it was submitted to them. E-loans apparently has their act together- sure wish they could teach a thing or two to Bank of America.

Oh yeah- and the tenants that we have are hoping to move into our home on September 1st. We have been searching for a short term rental and let me just tell you- I am absolutely appalled at what is out there for rentals. I mean- seriously, the health department should come in and condemn some of these places. So as of right now we are going to wait until the 13th to see if we get any additional news and if we do not there is a very good chance we are going to notify our tenants that we are not going to be able to provide them occupancy on the 1st of September. I am not about to put my children into a disgusting environment however temporary it might be just because I have a big heart and want to make sure my tenants can get their children settled before the school year starts.

Even though I work in the mortgage business and I see short sales every day I am still very disheartened at how this is working out. I have read a statistic that says less than 5% of all short sales actually close- and I don't necessarily believe that to be true. The escrow officer that is handling our file has over 200 short sales pending and her success rate is approximately 25%. My realtor discussed this file with my escrow officer and the escrow officer has said that we should be calling Bank of America every other day right now. Unfortunately the short sale processing company (3rd party) told us in their vast (questionable) experience that they tried calling every day and it netted no more productivity than calling once a week (translation- they don't want to staff up to call every day so the staffers they have only have time to call once a week)

On a side note- we loaded one POD completely and had a 2nd one delivered already. Wow we have a lot of stuff. My husband hates moving boxes that are labeled "Stuff" or "Junk" so I have simply stopped labeling them. Now they say "office, kitchen, garage". It will be like a big surprise to open them when we do finally get there.

 

*****If you want to check in on the current status of my short sale experience visit me at:

http://shortsale-longsale.blogspot.com/

Comments

[Minnie]

Oh wow. I thought for sure you'd be in the throws of packing and moving by now.

I'm sorry, I know it's a very unsettling feeling.

About rental properties... You're not even lying. Last summer our new house was still under construction and we had to be in the "district" for the Kidlet to go to school. We looked at some properties that were so bad I never made it past the front door.

[Robin]

I currently have my house on the market as a short sale. We got an offer within the first week it was up. Countrywide is my mortgage company and they finally gave approval for my buyers the day AFTER they (the buyers) terminated the contract. They patiently waited, 7 months for that approval! We now have another buyer and are in week 2 of waiting for the approval all over again. While it is frustrating to you, it is also frustrating to your seller. Hang in there!

[Carla]

What a pain! Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[Mrs M]

aaaarrrgggghhhhhhh - I feel you pain! Why not take a long vacation to visit me instead, no yucky rentals! OK, a girl can dream.....

[CEC]

Wow- so nice to know there is someone else out there living the same stresful life I am right now. We put a bid in on a short sale house back in March! We are stuck in phase 2 and keep hearing we should hear our answer any day. (yeah right!) We know better now.
We have moved into a temporary rental in the right district but not the same school for my son, which may mean a switch mid yr if this ever goes through.
The whole thing is absolutely aggrivating.
I am beginning to feel like we will never get an answer and we have not see n any other houses on the market that we like as much. Just plain stuck!

[dearjenn]

Good luck CEC- sounds like you have even more time invested in this than we do. Sure hope it works out for you as well- and I know the hardest part is when the kids are uprooted- so I will hope for your sake that it works out quickly so you can get your son in the right school on time!

[Cynthia A.]

It's bittersweet to know that others are experiencing this. Bitter because no one should ever have to experience this. The anxiety that comes with the long, drawn-out process is ridiculous. Sweet because we are not alone. There has to be some sort of club for us "the Short Sale Buyer's Club".

My husband and I had a speed wedding within 2 weeks so that we could put an offer in on a house. (we needed our joint income to qualify for our loan) Our offer was put in April 10, 2009 and then cancelled for a day or two, because Countrywide said they didn't receive the papers requested (of course we had a fax confirmation)so now, we are supposedly waiting for a Phase 2 negotiator to be assigned. (who knows how long that will take).

Anyway, enough on my rant, good luck to everyone in a short sale. Let's hang in there together!!!

[dearjenn]

Good luck to you too Cynthia! It sounds like you have been waiting longer than I have... I'm right there with you in the "short sale buyers club". Well, I'm in the "short sale waiting club" for now!

[Maria]

Can't believed this short sale dilemma everyone have with countrywide. Can Bank of America do something on this please??? It is your name at stake now.