Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Andrew Ostrander on January 28, 2011 at 3:02pm

Julie:

 

I feel your pain as these things are ALWAYS a moving target.  I can tell you however that in the end, Wells Fargo is one of the better lenders to deal with.  They are generally consistent in their process, though clearly not in the case you've shared.

 

The good news is that if you stay on them about postponing the trustee's sale, they will likely approve that.  Also, look at the emails you have from them as many times they have a supervisor contact below their signature/title info.  CC'ing that person can help many times.  Additionally, calling and asking to speak to a supervisor is sometimes granted.  Good luck and if that doesn't work, come back to us again and I'll see about getting you a direct contact.  :)

 

 

Permalink Reply by Julie Tinkey on January 28, 2011 at 3:38pm

Hi Andrew, up until now I have had pretty good luck with Wells but definitely not on this one. None of the emails have supervisor info. I called today and was told the supervisor's name is "Tony" but they would not give me his last name or contact information. How messed up is that?? I had the trustee sale postponed in December, when we got the first approval under HAFA. Right after that, I got an email saying to trustee sale is now scheduled for 2/10 and will NOT be postponed any further. It was my understanding that under HAFA all sale dates were to be postponed for up to 120 days. This trustee sale was only postponed 60 days. If you know someone who may be able to assist me, I would greatly appreciate the contact info.

Permalink Reply by Kim Chitwood www.kimchitwood.com on January 28, 2011 at 3:17pm

I would call a HUD approved HAFA specialist in your area. I have a contact number for one in GA but I'm not sure where you are. If they are approved for hafa, all they require is that the secondary liens waive deficiency rights once they have settled. We just did a chase HAFA with a 6k CC lien.  1500 of the seller's money went to that lien.

Permalink Reply by Julie Tinkey on January 28, 2011 at 3:40pm

Hi Kim, I am in CA. Yes we did get HAFA approval but the 2nd wanted $15K and under HAFA they would only get $6K. Buyer agreed to pay the $9K difference but Wells would not allow that (after they said they would) It's just been a nightmare.

Permalink Reply by Kim Chitwood www.kimchitwood.com on January 28, 2011 at 3:42pm

Julie you have to contact a HUD approved HAFA counseling center. They may be able to get you back into the process and work this thing out. You also need a professional negotiator. This is a hard deal and you need someone that knows the inside of this one. Email me kschitwood@yahoo.com

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on January 28, 2011 at 6:44pm

no, no, no - something is all wrong.  Did Wells agreed to the their net on the HUD?  If so, then it is not their business how much & from where goes to any junior lien.  The buyer 'has the right' to contribute $x to the seller's closing costs and/or lien releases. (it should be a special clause in the contract)

 

The first negotiator understood what was going on and that it is totally permissible under HAFA guidelines - I've done it more than once.  The second negotiator may not have come across this circumstance and is telling you NO rather than learn how to handle it. (e.g. taking the easy way out)

 

did you already email specialtyresolutionteam@weelsfargo.com ?  Did you contact the Office of John Stumpf? 

 

Gee whiz - I just put one WF HAFA in the pipeline - I hope I don't run into this.  Let us know how you do.

Permalink Reply by Julie Tinkey on January 28, 2011 at 7:57pm

So Wendy, just so I understand you correctly, under a HAFA short sale the buyer can contribute to the lien release, in excess of the $6000 offered? The first negotiator said yes, the second no (and she apparently asked more than one person). I will email the address you gave me and see if I can get some help. Also, do you have John Stump's contact info?

 

Thanks for the help! I pride myself in being a decent agent/negotiator for my clients but this transaction has just about done us in. (They spent 6 months getting jerked around with the loan mod people . . . now this)

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on January 29, 2011 at 12:31pm

yes, I haven't done a buyer contribution with WF but I did Chase, BoA & there's at least another one but Lord I can't remember the others without going thru the files.  Once the sale closes,  the details blur :-)

Believe or not John Stumpf's info can be found with a Google search - all of the CEO & CFO's etc can  be found with Google.   Then it's a matter getting on the phone with lots of tenacity.

 

I'm dong a BoA HAFA with Deafult Servicing as the HAFA vendor which is a nightmare - I'm having a bit of trouble finding the top of the totem pole at Default Servicing - just mentioning it in case anybody has had to go beyond supervisor level...  I could use a contact or two

Permalink Reply by Joy Baker on January 29, 2011 at 1:17pm

Julie~I have discovered that it is somewhat incumbent upon us to learn as much as we can about the guidelines because you cannot, unfortunately, depend upon the negotiator to know them.

The fact that the 2nd lien holder MUST agree to accept no more than the 6% allowed is one of the major tenets (and, in my humble opinion, one of the major shortfalls) of the HAFA program.

Wendy, your experiences are interesting to me.  Where are you seeing that HAFA guidelines indicate this is permissible?

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Wendy Smith on January 29, 2011 at 4:26pm

Joy - although I am HAFA Certified, I cannot tell you where in the regs buyer contribution is or is not allowed. I am speaking from experience.

Permalink Reply by Patti Guilford on January 4, 2012 at 1:22pm

Hi Wendy - is it possible for you to update the buyer contribution on a HAFA deal with your experience in 2011?

As Andrew said - these deals are moving targets and we need to know if this is still a possibility. Thanks much and Happy New Year!!!