I recently got a Mary Esther Florida short sale approved by

Property:  Owner occupied home in Mary Esther Florida

Market Value:  $130,000

Senior Lien:  Wells Fargo – VA loan  – $190,000

Junior Lien:  HSBC –  $40,000

Getting the VA compromise sale approved by Wells Fargo was the easy part of this short sale.   Getting approval from HSBC, the junior lien, was a different story.  HSBC had farmed out its collection efforts to a company called Professional Recovery Services.  After months of waiting for a response on short sale approval, PRS finally claimed that HSBC would not allow a short sale because the borrower had filed for bankruptcy a few years ago.  I was asked to provide documentation that the HSBC lien was not included in the bankruptcy.  I did, but PRS said HSBC still refused to look at the short sale, claiming “a bankruptcy is a bankruptcy”.

Undeterred, I contacted HSBC directly, emailing several representatives until I was directed to a negotiator in the bankruptcy department.  Apparently, I had contacted the right person, as he said he would help with the short sale approval. First, though, he needed me to provide a Broker Price Opinion of the property’s value.  I used my Multiple Listing Service to do a detailed market analysis and faxed in the form.  The HSBC negotiator, although polite enough in scripted English, had a problem with my document.

“This is not a Broker Price Opinion” he said, “It says Comparative Market Analysis”. 

“It’s the same thing.  A comparative market analysis is the same thing as a BPO”, I told him incredulously, “What do you want me to do, re-label it?”

PAUSE

 “It looks like a CMA.  I need a Broker Price Opinion done by a Broker” He choked out.

“I am a Broker.  Fine, I will re-label the form with ‘BPO’ and fax it back to you.”

“Thank you, it has been my pleasure speaking with you”, he read from his script.

I re-entered my data onto another form, labeled it ‘Broker Price Opinion’, and faxed it back to HSBC.  The next day I called in.

“You are approved.  It has been my pleasure working with you”.

It’s Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Destin FL Real Estate

Destin Short Sales & Pre Foreclosure Help.

Read Wendy’s Destin Real Estate Blog

www.ShortSaleSuperstars.com for agents

Call toll-free 1-877-ITS-WNDY (1-877-487-9639) or local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email Wendy: itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

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I kept calling HSBC back, asking for supervisors, going through this loop for about two weeks.  I asked my seller to dig through his paperwork to try to find the last document about his mortgage.  He had received nothing for over a year, no bills, no calls, nothing.  So, next I called my favorite title agent, Debbie Cahill at Touchstone Land Title in Destin Florida.  Debbie and her trusted associate, Lee Ann Borden, checked the MERS system for me.  MERS stands for Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems.

MERS is used by many loan servicers to more easily keep track of who the end-investor is on the loan. MERS may be the registered “owner” in public records although the loan may be traded between end-investors.  MERS indicated HSBC STILL owned the loan!  Armed with this documented information, I called HSBC again.  Same response.  Then I started faxing.  I faxed the HSBC a letter stating we needed to close the property and they HAD TO RELEASE THEIR LIEN, with a copy of the printout from public records and MERS proving they owned the loan.  I faxed them every day for another two weeks.  No response.  I left messages on different numbers for HSBC.  Still nothing.  Honestly, I was about ready to throw in the towel.  My title agent had never had this happen in her entire career.  I did not have any options.  The property simply could never sell without the release of the HSBC lien.

Finally, a lucky call by the title agent got a sincerely interested response from someone in the HSBC MERS department.  She said she would try to help!  After two months of relentless pursuit, HSBC at last admitted they owned the loan.  And guess what?  They approved the Short Sale yesterday!

Never give up!

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