If you are doing a Short Sale with Bank of America there are a couple of things that you are going to want to know
1.) First of all, know that Bank of America is a transition process. They have recently merged, technically bought out, Countrywide. Due to this transition, B of A has a reputation in the short sale industry as being notoriously slow in processing.
2.) They have their own internal documentation that they want have signed and submitted with the short sale package. This includes their own Authorization to Release Information, Financial Worksheet and various other forms
3.) In order to avoid Bank of America asking for a deficiency judgment or promissory note, you are going to need to specify at the beginning of the transaction that the offer is dependent on B of A agreeing NOT to pursue any personal judgments. B of A does not understand Iowa law very well and will tell you that they will sometimes still go after homeowners for judgments even on first mortgages regardless of the fact that their foreclosure decree may not allow it.
4.) If you have the email address of someone at B of A and it is formatted as such First name.last name@bankofamerica.com that means that they are a higher level negotiator in the Loss Mitigation Dept. and will be more able to give you a definitive answer as to your question or case. If you aren’t speaking with someone at that level you may ask for an escalation.
**Update 2010**
Bank of America, the parent company of Countrywide Home Mortgage has switched to a Platform called Equator. Equator is a way to take all the front line negotiations and paperwork gathering away from bank negotiators and have someone else do it. Who is that someone else? Realtors and homeowners. Now, in order to get a short sale processed through B of A, the homeowner needs to call in and set up an account with Equator Submit at https://shortsale.bankofamerica.com/index.cfm? Submit or call 866-677-2516. They will need to complete an affidavit (Questionnaire) and tell the bank about their hardship.
Make sure to find out first whether it is an FHA backed loan. If it is then your short sale request WILL NOT be initiated in Equator. Also, check and see the status of the file. The homeowner might have attempted a loan mod and you may need to change the status with B of A to prevent a log jam later down the line.
Realtors, you will also need to get registered with an account on Equator, and your homeowner will need to select you as their Realtor after they have been registered.
Hope that this helps! If you have a home that your are needing an offer on with B of A, feel free to give us a call or email us at sandgrealestate@gmail.com.
