It was Philadelphia Short Sale Friday for me here in sunny Philadelphia ! I declare a day out of the week where I follow up with all of my 
Philly Short Sale deals. I have to follow up with the bank to see what's what because they DO NOT follow up with me. Calling in to check up on how the Short Sale is progressing is a predictable process for the most part.
So, I put my "game face" on, dial the 800 number, yawn, stretch, and begin the warm up activity which is the twenty questions / preliminary interview to get an update on the status of the Short Sale.
I give the customer service person my name, the correct spelling of my name, my client's name, the correct spelling of my client's name, the full property address, loan number, the last four digits of the client's social security number, my phone number, my email address, the office number, and whatever else they may need (by this point I have already faxed or email my authorization 3 or 4 times)
Then I get my update ! I check to see that they have all of the docs they need and I ask if they need anything from me or my client.
Here is a conversation I had today with Wells Fargo's Short Sale Department:
Me - "Let me get this straight. You asked for an updated Pre-Qualification letter from the buyer's mortgage company. I gave you a mortgage commitment 2 weeks ago."
Wells Fargo - "Yes Ma'am, but according to the notes, the negotiator cannot open that email."
Me - "I figured as much. That is why I faxed it, too! Was the negotiator able to read the fax I sent to her?"
Wells Fargo - "Yes Ma'am. According to the notes, it looks like she had to ask a superior to see if the mortgage commitment would be acceptable instead of a Pre-Qualification letter and it looks like no one has responded to that inquiry yet."
Me - "Does the negotiator know that a mortgage commitment is better than a Pre-Qualification letter?"
Wells Fargo - "No Ma'am. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"
Me - Aaarrrggghhh! (silent scream)
Paper covers Rock in this Rock, Paper, Scissors Round.
And the story continues...
This is my conversation with the Buyer's Agent:
Me - "Wells Fargo insists on a Pre-Qualification letter not a mortgage commitment."
Buyer Agent- "TD Bank refuses to issue a Pre-Qualification letter. They say it is too far along in the buyer's mortgage process and it is not their policy. They Won't Do It!"
Hey No fair !!! We can't play the game without Paper !!
This game is not over for me. I am no quitter ! And I bet you are not either. This is probably a very similar situation that many Short Sale Real Estate Specialists have experienced. Perhaps it was a Pre-Qualification letter. Perhaps it was another document or situation that clearly brought into the light how completely green the negotiators and the customer service people are regarding the mortgage and Real Estate process. Perhaps their short sale was accidentally deleted from the system or they had to resend the package in several times ??
I mean no disrespect to the industry, comparing the Short Sale follow up process to a childish game of Rock Paper Scissors. But the haphazardness and frivolous way in which the short sale process sometimes plays out needs to be brought out in the open.
I want to talk to a knowledgeable negotiator who understands the industry. And I would like the banks to stop playing the Rock Paper Scissors game with our clients !
Stephanie
*** credit goes out to Frank Ratka, RE/MAX Access for teaching me everything I know about Rock Paper Scissors. Frank is officially recognized in his own mind as the Gold Medal Winner of the Rock Paper Scissors game !
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I hear ya! I have over 40 short sale listings and, since we do our own "negotiations (I call it babysitting), it can be VERY challenging. I will admit that I have nver called a lender myself. I just do not have the patience or mental make up for it. However, I have a new team member that has really gotten good results. She's brand new to the industry but has already received approvals in less than 60 days and also has been very successful at getting defieciency language deleted.
Hang in there!
Stephanie - I love that you compared this to rock, paper, scissors (arguably the greatest game ever invented). I'm sure by the time you're done, you're ready for a few ice cold Yuenglings with Chris.
Hey Stephanie, great blog post. where did you get all that detailed info about Rock, paper, scissors? You must have a veteran of the RPS Games as an agent. :)
Serious though, as always great blog post.
Bill - Yes, it is challenging indeed ! We do our own negotiations as well. And yes, babysitting is a good word for it as well. And often times, it is just follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. Glad to hear you are getting good results. It is tedious indeed, but the results are well worth it. We do get a lot of satisfaction when we received that short sale approval letter, saving our client from that foreclosure. And in addition, for the community, one more short sale is also one less foreclosure for that particular neighborhood as well. Is great for everyone involved. Sometimes though with all the work involved, especially on the lower priced ones, we do second-guess ourselves and ask is it worth it ? So when we do get assigned a professional negotiator, it is such a blessing. When a short sale goes smooth, it is a celebration. ~ Chris
Matt - We will play the game tonight ! Or perhaps again next Friday after the next round of short sale updates - there is always another bizarre story or request !! Although Stephanie prefers her wine : ) . ~ Chris
Frank R - Blog post updated ! And I expect to collect my $10 dollars on Monday. Name dropping does not come cheap my friend : )
This was a great post! I shared it across facebook and twitter! What a great analogy! I added that just like the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors it is persistence that makes the difference and everyone has a chance of winning the game, especially with the right partner!
Have a great day!
Kind regards,
Julianne Krutka - Park Square Realty Westfield MA
Julianne - Thank you for spreading the post across the social media landscape. I really loved the analogy that Stephanie made as well. The short sale process is difficult enough as it is and you would think that the banks would make it less challenging by getting more qualified folks in to handle to these files. If so, they would be handled more efficiently and effectively. ~ Chris
I forgot to mention, when I first started reading this I automatically assumed Chris was writing this - makes the constant "Yes, Ma'am" response much more funny.
:)
Matt - LOL LOL LOL I hear you ! ~ Chris
Frank R - You are the man !
I am sure Stephanie will be back later to add some color to the comments as well.
Chis... Why would I chime in ? You are doing such a great job !
I think you need nerves of steel to specialize in anything as totally incomprehensibly frustrating a short sales. Not sure I would have the patience to be on the listing side of one of these.
Great post. I "feel" your frustration. One of the reasons I no longer work for corporate America.
Jane - Yes, definitely patience of a saint sometimes and nerves of steel. We have that combination some-days but not on all days. But try to have the right mindset which is why that warm-up activity bodes well : ) . Seriously though, we do not mind too much as these short sales add a nice element to a percentage of our business. Philadelphia is fortunate as that we are not flooded with short sales. At the same time, however, there are not too many agents that really excel in knowing how to do them well either.
Peggy - I hear you. Corporate America has some great folks, and some not so great folks. It all depends... I would think that with publicly traded companies with better training that we would not encounter stories like the above, but that is obviously not the case... maybe Wells Fargo inherited some of these folks from Wachovia ??
I find that it helps to approach the negotiators with a 'beginner's mind.' I assume that they have no real estate or mortgage experience, and that they have no authority to take decisions either.
If I can't fit my data into their system, I look for a way to change the data. If I can't change the date, I escalate to someone more helpful.
I just went through this with the wire fee that the title company charges on the HUD to send the proceeds to the lender. The investor wouldn't approve short sale with the wire fee, and the title company wouldn't do the HUD without it. I got the title company to move to fee to another part of the HUD, got the short sale approved, and everyone is satisfied.
Getting the purchase price accepted, when the negotiator told me that the value of the property had increased by 25% in the past 3 months (HAH!) required escalating the file.
It is so frustrating for all of us, Stephanie. The problem I have, is that it is the same story we got two years ago when the excuse was do to the overwhelming number of short sales they were dealing with. Surely they can do something about improving the efficiency of their short sale departmets by now. Thanks for your post!