First Short Sale
Well I tried my first short sale. I was working with Washington Mutual on what seemed to be a great short sale candidate. The house needed a lot of work and the home owner owed about the same amount the house was worth. I sent over a big short sale proposal including articles about the local economy and pictures of the house. Here is where we went down in flames. The representative never told us that they will not even consider a short sale when the auction date is set. I found out this when I faxed over the proposal. I wanted to pass this along for people who may be considering a short sale with Washington Mutual. It was a great learning experience and I look forward to my next short sale candidate. Luckily I am a very stubborn person. Should help me out a lot in this field.
tom[ Edited by tbelknap on Date 03/21/2003 ]
Tom, I read your post on another board and tried to E-mail you a preview of "A Short Sale Primer" but my E-mail isn't working.
Good idea to have the articles accompany the proposal. Wash Mu won't spend a nickel on repairs, that's not their gig. Perhaps if your proposal (was it really a proposal, or simply a completed short sale application?) included a foreclosure time line and a cost benefit analysis, you might have had more success. But, since your proposal came fairly late in the game... even a compelling proposal might not have been accepted. Unless, of course, the offer to purchase were all cash, no contingencies, and could be closed before the auction.
I did receive your email. Thank you for the advice. It was a little more than an application. I do want to incorporate a cost benefit analysis, as you stated, in future short sale proposals. The house needed major work and I laid out a time line incorporating the work needed, the redemption period and the average time the house sits on market within the area. I included pictures of the house, a detailed repair list with prices, late notices from the home owner, unemployment checks, bank statements, tax returns and the usual hardship letters. There is no way they even looked at the proposal. It was denied a couple of hours after I faxed it too them. The problem here is the foreclosure process only takes 4-5 weeks and there is always an auction date set when they start the process. According to Washington Mutual, you would never be able to work with them in Michigan. Next time I may approach them about buying the note at a discount.
Thanks for the advice. I always enjoy reading your posts.
Tom
Can you explain in more detail what a "Cost Benefit Analysis" is?
A Cost Benefit Analysis is, in my opinion, the essence of a successful short sale proposal. (it's a way to measure the benefits of an expected decision) Your proposal must include all the information they need to make a favorable decision. And that decision is that it would be in their best financial interest to accept your proposal.
Show them exactly what you mean by putting it in front of them in black and white.
They won't be making a financial decision predicated on a few snapshots. While important, they simply support your stated opinion of value which is included in the financial presentation.
Though the guru's might think that this is overkill, that banks will casually and heavily discount a loan in default... but that's not been my experience. It takes some work, some professionalism, and some luck. So why leave anything to chance? You've got a narrow window of opportunity to effectuate a short sale. Make the Proposal all it can be.
In my opinion, simply completing an application is not, in itself, a compelling proposal.
how would you know the costs the bank incurs...the cost of taking the property all the way through to the auction? Is there a formula for estimating legal costs. etc
shortsale pro, can i get that cos analysys too?
My e-mail is ggaf18@aol.com
Gary
cost benefit analysis.....sorry