By George White, RE/MAX Times Online Managing Editor

Do you have Short Sale tips on individual banks? Have you found that different lenders expect different things? A Mainstreet Message Board thread called "Individual Bank Short Sale Tips" has caught fire and now includes more than 40 idea-filled messages. If you haven't seen it – or viewed it when it was just starting – it's definitely worth a look.

David Jamar of RE/MAX Riverside in Sebastian, Fla., started the online discussion on Oct. 5. His first message:

I thought it might be beneficial to exchange tips/procedures on short sale procedures by the various banks. Things we find out along the way. I might start off with three:
(1) Most short sales requests are now required by the government for the bank to analyze it first for a loan modification, which means a package does not automatically go to loss mitigation. Chase requires you to verbally submit the financial information over the phone (in addition to the written financial statement in your package) BEFORE it gets switched over to loss mitigation. No one at Chase told us this for 5 weeks and 7 phone calls.
(2) National City (PNC) also wants the seller to verbally contact them and request a short sale before it will go to loss mitigation. National City is now out 12 weeks minimum from entry into the loss mitigation department.
(3) Also the last two short sales I have done, if there is a HELOC (Home Equity line of credit) National City and Greentree now want a 10% payoff from the first to release the lien, but they will not forgive the balance. Hope this helps you. Please pass on your individual bank stories.
– David Jamar Broker RE/MAX Riverside, Sebastian, Fla. (10/5/09)

In response, Associates have posted more than 40 messages detailing their interactions with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, National City Bank, Huntington National Bank and more.

Here's a recently posted tip from Julia Turudich (CDPE) of RE/MAX Tiffany Real Estate in Cypress, Calif.: "I love how much information you all have posted and I would like to pass some of what I have experienced as well. I tend to ask as many questions as I can: for example, how long does the lender's process take and how many phases, or what is their process like from the time they receive the file until approval – or start to finish? How many files does each negotiator have and how long is it currenlty taking to close a short sale from start to finish? Do they require the seller to do a loan modification prior to a short sale? The last negotiator I had was working on over 550 files. WOW! I also ask how often I should follow up? For me personally it is once a week; my days are Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also update my buyers agents and sellers by e-mail once a week whether I have any new news or not, just to keep the buyers in the loop and interested in the property. I also prefer to copy all of the required lender documentation onto legal size paper and use a header with the following info:

"BORROWER(S): JANE AND JOHN DOE  PROPERTY: 123 MAIN ST CYRESS, CA 90630 1st Loan#:123456  2nd Loan or HELOC: 6789 **AGENT: JULIA TURUDICH PHONE 714-719-3403**

"I try to have it on no more than 2 lines. It is clean and only takes a few minutes to copy it onto the forms. Hope this helps."

And here's a tip from Sonia Zisumbo of RE/MAX Metro in Layton, Utah, who even included an attachment in her posting: "Thank you for the forms, everyone. I have attached a copy of the Fannie Mae BPO form. When I list a home, I use a CMA. Once I get my first offer I do a BPO and I send it in with offer & short sale packet, MLS sheet, price reduction history and a value packet, along with my CMA if it makes sense. The BPO & value packet I created show how this offer is reasonable in the market we are in for this time frame. If the time frame is longer it could be less. Typically I will have reduced price a bit before an offer so it shows the downhill spiral. The value packet is about 9-15 pages and includes: BPO addendum, checklist of damage, property refurbishment form, contractor bids, mold disclosure, state & community market conditions, and a page of  pictures. All this information tells bank upfront the big picture and helps me stay on track when negotiating. I am a newer agent to RE/MAX, so forgive my nervousness. I hope this helps someone. I know it is a lot of work, but the negotiators seem to appreciate it and I feel like they try to help me since they have so much proof. P.S. TIP When I call and get transfered out of country, I call back and  push the Spanish-speaking line. It usually goes to Florida or California and they speak English!! They can fast track me where I need to go or sometimes even give me a update on file over the phone, or direct numbers. Worth a try :)"

Have some thoughts to share? Post them in the Message Board thread itself or email them to editor@remax.net. Please include your full name, RE/MAX office, city and state or province. Comments, slightly edited for length, flow and punctuation, will appear below.

Comments (2)
I attended the California Association of Realtors Business Meetings in San Jose last week. The recommendation I heard in several meetings is to make sure that we notify the seller of the importance to contact their accountant and attorney at least 3 times during the Short Sale process: (1) when the Listing Agreement is signed (2) when any Purchase Agreement is submitted (may be more than once) (3) before the final approval letter is signed by the seller. Also, a couple of tips: (1) Make a sheet of labels with the loan # or #s and stick one on EVERY page submitted to the bank. (2) Be sure to package it so that the pages are in order with a cover page (looks count!) (3) Make sure the income and expense statement supports the hardship.
– Becky Bowles, RE/MAX Real Estate Consultants, Palm Springs, Calif.

I wrote an offer on April 13th on a home that Bank of America had the loan on. What a joke. The offer went to different people all through the bank, updated appraisals, re-evaluations on the loan, back to the mitigation dept., on to another processor and after 4 long months we were told that we might be getting an accepted offer soon. Several days later my buyer finally pulled the plug – too slow of a response from the bank. They were getting married and needed a home soon. I had told them short sales were not for everyone, but 4 months?
– Joe Knab, RE/MAX Unlimited, Cincinnati, Ohio 

Updated on 10/28/09