Things Real Estate, News, Notes & Stuff

READ THIS ENTIRE EMAIL AND CONTACT YOUR BANK OF AMERICA SHORT SALE SELLERS IMMEDIATELY!!

 Bank of America sent out notifications today to all agents on Equator offering from $2,500 – $30,000 relocation assistance walk away money to sellers with specific types of loans serviced by Bank of America for short sales closing by September 26, 2013!!   Yes, it is 2013, not 2012!

The law firm is unable to go through the hundreds of files in the drawer to determine who has a BofA first mortgage to make the necessary notifications.  Please check all of

your short sale listings and “copy and paste” pertinent info from this email and forward directly to any sellers now and in the future that have Bank of America first mortgages!  The law firm will be covering this with sellers in attorney consultations from here on through this program availability.

This program IS NOT available to sellers who already have offers being negotiated, nor is it available to sellers that initiate a short sale with offer in hand.  Even though there are many cases

where it has not been in the seller’s best interests to begin the process with their lender prior to having an offer,  this new program from BofA is worth looking into based on their required

guidelines.

LISTING AGENT ACTION RECOMMENDED:

1.  Read this email in its entirety so you can answer seller’s questions regarding this new program.
2.  Have your seller call 1-866-880-1232 to see if their loan is eligible for this offer and let you know.
3. If the seller’s loan is eligible, and seller has not yet had their consultation or signed their retainer agreement, encourage them to do so now.  Once they have retained the law firm, we can initiate the short sale in Equator without an offer to get them in position to take advantage of this program.   Remember, if they were quoted a retainer fee, that fee is not due unless and until there is an offer received on the property.  So, they can sign the retainer agreement without payment of retainer fee at this time.

1.  Copy and paste the Q&A’s below and forward to your seller for direction.
2. Continue to advise sellers on future listings if their first mortgage is with Bank of America as this program continues into next year.
3. If seller’s loan is not eligible for this special program, it will not be beneficial in most cases to initiate the short sale in Equator until there is an offer.  (ie: bpo’s done too early in declining market,  lender controls over your pricing strategies, time added to negotiations if file is stuck in pre-approval process when we already have an offer, etc.,)

Q & A on this program provided by Bank of America:

Q: How can I find out if my client qualifies for this limited time offer?

A: Call a Bank of America short sale specialist at 1.866.880.1232 Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern.

Q: Do I have to do anything special when initiating or completing the short sale?

A: No. But act quickly by initiating the short sale on Equator. This is a limited-time offer that your clients won’t want to miss out on.  (From law firm:  If your seller is retaining the law firm to represent them, DO NOT initiate this in your Equator as it may limit our ability to work the sale through our Equator when offer is received!  If seller’s mortgage is eligible, your legal assistant will initiate in their own Equator access and forward communications regarding list price, etc. to you.)
Q: If a short sale is initiated with an offer, will it qualify for this relocation assistance?

A: No. This relocation assistance is only available on preapproved price short sale programs.  Short sales initiated at the time an offer is received do not qualify for the enhanced relocation assistance funds.

Q: Will the relocation assistance funds be reported on the HUD-1?

A: Yes, funds received at closing will be documented on the HUD-1, and a 1099-MISC will be issued.

Q: Can the relocation assistance funds be used to pay off existing liens?

A: Yes, the homeowner may use funds to pay off existing liens or to help with relocation expenses.

Q: Is the relocation assistance added to any other incentives, such as the HAFA or Bank of America proprietary program incentives?

A: The homeowner incentive will be inclusive of the $3,000 HAFA incentive.  For example, if the homeowner is eligible for a $5,000 homeowner incentive, $3,000 will be from the HAFA incentive, and $2,000 will be from the homeowner incentive.

Q: Is the enhanced relocation assistance available for other programs?

A: Currently, the enhanced relocation assistance is only available to short sale programs initiated without an offer. However, as we gauge the success we may extend this incentive to other programs.

Questions? 

Homeowners and agents may call 1.866.880.1232 to speak to a Bank of America short sale specialist about this exciting limited-time preapproved price short sale program offering.