BofA REO Update

Written by Jim the Realtor

October 1, 2010

The Bank of America conducted a seminar yesterday for its designated REO agents in San Diego.  No new game-changers, but plenty of confirmation of what we’ve been experiencing – short sales and loan mods have dominated the space in 2010:

17 Comments

  1. Ricky

    Unrelated Friday humor, but as baseball winds down and the Pads go wayward…how about this nickname I created for an Anaheim infielder:

    Alberto “Housing Market” Callaspo! 🙂

    Have a good weekend everyone.

  2. Sean

    JtR,

    My question about the alleged new Fannie/Freddie deadlines to servicers (differing accounts given by BofA versus Wells Fargo) is what about the loans in default that are NOT listed for sale or in a short sale? The ones that are in loan mod limbo for more than 6 months? Are they going to finally start foreclosing instead of postponing the trustee sales after they hit the one year in default mark?

    By MI, you mortgage insurers?

  3. Robert

    Cool video! Nice to at least hear what banks are communicating to agents.

  4. Rob Dawg

    I was a little surprised at the vehemence regarding HOAs and their senoir position. Sounded almost like a warning rather than an explanation of the senior/junior debt holder relationship.

    IMO the HOAs don’t owe him $700k. They owe BofA $700k minus their exposure + costs if they want to buy out the junior lien BofA hold on the courthouse steps. Big difference.

    Invest in HOAs? Hmmmm.

  5. Jim the Realtor

    I’ve been to a couple of these seminars this year, and the speakers all seem to be more committed to entertaining/shocking, than disseminating vital sales data.

    They don’t have much to say?

    His HOA comment probably reveals more about his level of burnout. The staff, having to deal with the same basic inquries for 2-3 years straight, has to be wearing down.

  6. Jim the Realtor

    Sean,

    I don’t believe anything I hear, and only half of what I see. 🙂

    Threats of ramping up the foreclosure process probably won’t change anything for the borrowers, so Fannie/Freddie and servicers will have to make good on them to be believed.

    Yes, MI = private mortgage insurers.

  7. Jim the Realtor

    In a move that will expedite some foreclosures, Wells Fargo & Co. has stopped granting extensions for distressed homeowners to complete short sales.

    The change last month preceded recent revelations of faulty documenation at least two major mortgage servicers — JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc. — that suspended thousands of foreclosure actions to review their processes. Wells said it does not have the same problems as those companies.

    The company said it changed its policy on short sales at the behest of investors for whom it services mortgages, including the government-sponsored enterprises.

    Early last month, Fannie Mae told its servicers to stop unnecessarily delaying foreclosures. The GSE said it would hold servicers responsible for unexplained delays to foreclosures with fines and on-site reviews of a servicer’s operations.

    In a memo emailed to short sale vendors last month and obtained by American Banker, Wells said it will no longer postpone foreclosure sales for those who do not close short sales by the date in their approval letter from the company. Only extension letters dated Sept. 14 or earlier would be honored, Wells said.

    Mary Berg, a spokeswoman for Wells, said its new policy on short sales was put in place “over the past couple of months … in response to various investor changes.”

    Those investors, she said, “would include the GSEs, HUD and those investing in private-label” mortgage-backed securities.

    Wells said it will make an exception to the new policy for loans in its own portfolio, which includes those it acquired with Wachovia Corp. in 2008. For these loans, Berg said, Wells allows for one foreclosure postponement, provided the following conditions are met: a short sale has been approved by Wells, by junior lienholders and by mortgage insurers; the buyer has proof of funds or approved financing; and the short sale can close within 30 days of the scheduled foreclosure sale.

    http://www.americanbanker.com/news/wells-nixes-extensions-1026457-1.html

  8. Kingside

    This B of A guy is ragging on HOAs for having an increased sense of self worth and being a significant barrier to a transaction? Give me a break. Sounds to me like the pot calling the kettle black.

    And the story he tells sounds made up to me. HOAs know better than to foreclose on a property with no equity. HOAs can’t collect dues from themselves.

  9. sosad

    Then the fellow acknowledges on how far off their past predictions were, that just says any comments on future expectations are for entertainment purposes only 🙂

  10. JimG

    Amy was there as well Jim.I wasn’t but I’m not sure he isn’t just fed whatever the higher ups tell him. From watching the “Back to Bene” sales it appears that if BAC is serving the loan for say Bank of New York then it gets assigned the next day but if BAC owns the asset then it may just sit. Met a long time BAC field service guy at a property last week who confirmed they are cutting the grass on 650 empty properties currently…..Why aren’t those assigned to an agent???

  11. Josie

    Okay. He says the REO inventory is low. Of course, it’s low. If you don’t foreclose, then, surprise, you will have low REO inventory. Am I missing something here?

  12. Jim the Realtor

    650 empty properties? Some of those have to be listed, don’t they?

    Detached stats in SD County:

    ACT, PEND, CONT marked as short sales or REOs:

    4,959 of 13,602 total ACT, PEND, CONT listings, or 36%.

    1,180 of the 4,959 are marked as REOs, the rest short sales.

    He is doing delinquent properties too, right? At least vacant, delinquent properties.

    I’m so jaded that 650 doesn’t sound like that many.

  13. CA renter

    Met a long time BAC field service guy at a property last week who confirmed they are cutting the grass on 650 empty properties currently…..Why aren’t those assigned to an agent???
    —————

    Which might back up a rumor I’ve heard about BofA getting some sort of “authorization” (agreement by the govt to cover some portion of the losses?) to sit on properties for up to five years. According to the rumor, they will not even rent them out; they are going to board them up and maintain them for the duration.

    Anyone else hear rumors about this?

  14. IRE

    HOAs sometimes do foreclose when they have no equity: If they believe they can rent out the unit and recoup more in rental payments than the outstanding debt before the mortgage forecloses. This is actually very common in Florida.

  15. JimG

    Really don’t know what to believe anymore. I do know we have received assignments from BAC that had been empty for over 6 months so he’s not completely telling the truth. I would assume you are correct Jim in that he is probably doing vacant but not yet foreclosed properties, not all post auction. Then again they may be in no hurry to foreclose on them since “mark to market” has been suspended and they can carry them off the books. No harm to the earnings per share and everybody gets their bonuses….

  16. Jim the Realtor

    I think we should get bonused for having to put up with their brain damage. How come we don’t get banker bonuses?

  17. John

    Jim, this is probably worth nothing, but this guy “Jim Willie” who writes a goldbug newsletter claims BofA had to be rescued by the Fed on the weekend of July 24th. I haven’t seen any independent validation of this info anywhere.

    http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article23074.html

    Meanwhile back on planet earth what do you think of the disclosures of fraudulent documents submitted to courts from the Florida foreclosure mills?

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