It appears Bank of America is not yet ready to come out of the closet about their relationship with Equator (REOTrans) even though they have been directing customers doing short sales towards this platform. I had reported on this recent change back in early October SEE Bank of America formerly Countrywide NEW NEW Short Sale Process…REOTrans.com.
We have had a few short sales directed onto the new Equator platform and then neither Bank of America nor Equator know what to do next. Below is a recent article by Carrie Bay for the DS News that explains the situation a little bit more.
Either way you cut it…Bank of America as well as other banks need to get in gear and streamline the short sale processes. We hear a lot of talk and little action to make things better. The only thing that has been streamlined is that the negotiators and agents have learned how to deal with Bank of America and set expectations that the short sale process will be long and frustrating.
I am in the “wait and see” mode on whether Equator and Bank of America can improve their broken systems and get this relationship put into high gear and make things happen. With 88% of distressed properties being short sales in the Emerald Coast Multiple Listing Service…we can not avoid or ignore this logjam of short sales and need immediate and significant action from the lenders.
The article is below…
California-based Equator (formerly known as REOTrans) says it has launched the industry’s first-ever short sale module for a large national lender.
Although Equator declined to name the lender, the San Francisco Chronicle has reported that Bank of America is the company in question. A representative from BofA recently told the paper that they were using the Equator platform to manage the short sale process. “This is the first time that short sales have been handled through an electronic platform,” said Equator CEO Chris Saitta. “With our new system, everyone works together in real time, dramatically improving communication and approval timelines for our client, its borrowers, vendors, and real estate agents.”
Short sales, in which a lender and borrower reach an agreement to dispose of a property threatened by foreclosure at a price that is “short” of the amount owed on the mortgage, have become more popular among lenders lately as a viable method for dealing with distressed properties. According to Equator, the number of successful short sales has increased spectacularly across the country in the wake of the foreclosure crisis.
Kevin Kieffer, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty in Danville, California, told the Chronicle, “A year ago I wouldn’t touch a short sale. It would be random prices banks wouldn’t agree to, you would be tied up six months hoping to get a property sold. But now we’re seeing banks up front negotiating prices and giving us criteria. They’re getting creative to make things move.”
Equator says the keys to a successful short sale are accessibility, responsiveness, communication, and fulfillment. By adopting its short sale platform, the company says large lenders, such as the unnamed Bank of America, can ensure troubled borrowers have 24/7 access to a portal through which they can provide the necessary information to process a short sale and receive real-time status updates electronically.
“Short sales can be a daunting, complicated, frustrating task for everyone involved,” Saitta said. “This fresh approach using our sophisticated platform makes it fast and efficient for all parties involved.”
Equator’s short sale module also automates decisioning for the lender, handles approvals for faster turnaround, provides quick fulfillment, and assures full compliance with government programs, Saitta said.
We have been trying to upload the sales contract, mls listing, photo and other supporting documentation to Equator for OVER A MONTH. Every time we upload it, it takes them two days to look at it, and then they reject the documents and say the reason is "other'. So we call equator's support line and ask them why the documents were rejected, and the person who answers says they don't know what "other" means and we should re-initiate the offer and start all over again. This has been going on for a month. Equator is a joke.
Bank of America has implemented this system as a way to further detach itself from making real life decisions. After being involved in a short sale for two months(using the old system) and ultimately told the buyers offer was "insufficient", the bank refused to consider an increase in the pruchase price proffered by Buyer and told us we had to start all over using Equator rather than continuing the process we had underway.
This means begining with an Equator representative who follows a "check list", asking for downloads of information we submitted over two months ago.
Now Equator reps work according to a software program and can't think outside a box.
I am sooooo tired of this.. this system is the WORST SYSTEM i have ever seen.. We have been going through a short sale with BOA for 6 months now through equator and it is horrible.. Just last week we ACCEPTED their counter offer and agreed to pay them and now they are ordering appraisals which have been done 2x over this period… seems like all we do is continue to send in all the info they request and they are just sitting there.. i would really like to know how anyone has ever had a short sale completed through them.. I lost my job of 12 years in September and my husband has been laid off since September, 2 children, and this seemed like the best option to avoid foreclosure … well i am ready to just walk away from here and not care anymore.. the stress and daily dealings with them has been enough to drive me crazy…I did everything i was supposed to and yet they are still NOT DOING ANYTHING!!!!!
Bank of America is the worst ever, As a client and a realtor I will never ever give them any further business and will make sure I let anyone I know not to as well.
I am now submitting items I've already submitted to them for a fourth time, there is nobody I can ask why they are being rejected, they say I am not identified in the system (I have been registered since they started this new stupid system to supposedly make things better)
SOOOO, here I go again. Yippee
Val -
The Bank of America short sale system in Equator can be very frustrating. Check out this guide that covers some common issues. The first time I used the Equator system my negotiator loaded the files and though he was done. Then I went in and saw that he never hit the “submit” button and the files were never submitted to the system…they were just loaded. Annoying, but that is how the system works.
So it is worst now than it was before this new system
Impossible — that's what the BOA and now their Equator system is!! Continual dropped info, people who work for Equator are inept and insulting. The POWER PLAY BY COUNTRYWIDE AND NOW BOA IS INSULTING TO ANYONE WHO HAS TO DEAL WITH THEM.
3 weeks ago my realtor had an Acceptance letter on a cash only short sale for me. Two days prior to the foreclosure date without warning BOA wanted $4,000 more to go with the short sale. The buyers couldn't come up with the money and the house was foreclosed.
This is power play after power play. I don't know what constitues fraud, but this sure seems like it.
AZ MAD
AZ Mad -
The process is very frustrating. I will tell you that in Florida they are not stopping foreclosures when requested by lenders. In the past we could delay the foreclosures or reschedule them due to negotiating a short sale. With a backlog of almost 1 million foreclosures the courts are beginning to push foreclosures through.
The wave of foreclosures is coming and it is going to be massive!
I am Beside my self and would like some direction on how to get B of A to stop a foreclosure I have a offer just cannot get the old offer deleted and the new one uploaded on equator. After numerous calls and emails still nothing is done and noone at B of A seems able to do anything but put a request in . Thats not working!!!!!!! who can be held accountable any info or advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you !
Did a short sale with Bank of America six months ago for property I owned in Henderson, Nevada.
That bank keeps calling me; one department doesn't know what the others are doing.
which is the result of an institution getting too large. My credit report says foreclosure not short sale;
I'm trying to get it changed since my score was dropped some 200 points.
I have another mortgage with B of A for my primary residence which I hope to move to another bank.
I thate Equator. It's fine for putting in documents but we're dummied down and can't work out a transaction. Mistakes aren't corrected. You cannot have a machine be the brains in these transactions. If we can allow ourselves to be dictated and controlled by a machine on a grand scale that effects so many lives such as equator, imagine the next brainiac idea that will effect your decision making process and ability to have any control. Look how easily it has taken control of our sellers and our abilities to negotiate and speak to a human who can do anything with their own mind. Chris Saittia scares me that he is so proud of this monster known as equator. I hope it crashes and if BOA doesn't start listening, they will eventually meet their demise. I believe that sure as the sun rises.
I have completed a transaction with equator and ran into a few glitches. I was some what frustrated that no one knew the system but I was able to call support and always get an answer. I completed a shortsale on two adjoining properties that were upside-down in 43 days. I felt when the system was brand new it had glitches. These were addressed while I pushed my process through with Grace. Kimmarie Carpenter Prinipal Broker with Bellacasa Real estate Mcminnville Oregon 97128
Kimmarie -
Thanks for sharing. Equator is certainly getting better as many of the glitches are being worked through.