Unreasonable demands. It would appear that today is filled with unreasonable demands. Part of that is because I am a Sacramento short sale agent. Yeah, I know, nobody forced me at gunpoint into this profession. I chose it willingly, walked in with my eyes wide open -- I wasn't blindsided. Still, doesn't mean I can't yip about it.
The root of the problem is often two-fold. Either a person isn't thinking straight -- and let's face it, nobody says a bank negotiator has to think to stay employed; they don't pay them to think -- or a person is uninformed. In some situations, it's better to just give in to the demands than to fight discuss.
Keep the big picture in focus. The big picture is closing the transaction. A seller told me this morning that it might be better to let a short sale go to foreclosure than to print out four pages of a bank statement. That's because this is a Wells Fargo short sale, and this is the sort of stuff they demand. It's also a Wells Fargo bank statement we're talking about.
You would think the negotiator, who requested the July statement, would see that all of July and part of June is on page 1. She already has the previous statements. But she is demanding all 4 pages, from July to March. This is causing difficulty for the seller because she is unable to access the banks statement herself. Of course, this is the very last document the negotiator needs before submitting the file for approval.
On the other hand, we are down to the wire on closing another Sacramento short sale. The buyer completed his final walk-through and signed a Verification of Property Condition (VOP). This is a buyer who is not very well managed by his agent. The buyer has had his own lion's share of difficulty in understanding how the short sale process works and his role in this short sale throughout the entire process. That's because the buyer's agent, for whatever reason, appears unable to convey information to the buyer.
But you would think the buyer could read the document he signed. In this particular case, the buyer is demanding that the seller make repairs prior to closing such as installing doors that are in the garage. A VOP says the home is to be delivered to the buyer in the same condition as when the buyer first viewed it. Those doors did not jump off and run out to the garage during this time period. A VOP also says it is not a contingency of the purchase.
You can be right in your thinking. You can be dead right. But being dead right doesn't mean a transaction will close. Ya gotta pick the hills on which you wanna die in the short sale business. My mother used to say these are the kind of people who will cut off their nose to spite their face. I deal with these types day in and day out. This is the world of Sacramento short sales.
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
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Today's gripe for me is mortgage insurance companies. One that is insuring a one loan Wells Fargo Short Sale. They are the ones that will have to pay out when the property goes to foreclosure, and yet they are the ones demanding money from the Seller that the Seller can't possibly afford. Cutting off their nose to spite their face. Yep!
Hi Chris Ann: That MI most likely has some form of financial windfall through foreclosure that trumps a no-contribution short sale. I would not say that MI cuts off its nose to spite its face. Quite the contrary.
Infuriating for you, though, all the same.
"let's face it, nobody says a bank negotiator has to think to stay employed; they don't pay them to think"
"Those doors did not jump off and run out to the garage during this time period"
OMG!!! You're on a roll today. Thx for the lunchtime humor (yes, it's past 2pm and I'm just having my lunch). Been dealing with my own set of morons today who are choosing to cut off their nose to spite their face - underwriters!!! Who are typically right up there with some bank negotiators - they don't need to think to stay employed.
Hey Donne: Gee, Beaver, now that the buyer has finished their home inspection, let's remove some of the doors and store them up in the garage rafters and hope nobody notices they're gone. The buyers actually thought the sellers did this. Why would they do that, I asked? So the sellers could run off with the doors after closing. Oy.
Those negotiators, though -- no deviating from the norm. They have their list of rules and, by golly, they're gonna follow those rules even if those rules don't seem to apply to their particular situation. Rules are rules you know. Except, in a short sale, there are no rules, not really.
Elizabeth
I've had my share of dealing with unthinking nincompoops, so when I encounter someone who is not only empathetic but also quite sharp, I could kiss the ground she walks on.
But you also pegged another problem: when sellers forget why we're doing the short sale, and instead look for the easy way out (now). To make this process work, the sellers have to want this more than we do.
So we soldier on. NEXT!