Comment

Comment by Anthony Castellon on January 26, 2012 at 7:35pm

Enough is Enough lets call Dave Ransy or lets call the Navy Seals to deals to take action, they are quick and fast LOL

Comment by Joseph C. Alfe on January 26, 2012 at 2:56am

@Danielle..This scenario is plain wrong and why third party negotiators get a bad name.  I have a fee agreement signed by all parties at the time of contract.  To spring this on someone at the end is ridiculous and I would have refused to pay it, and then had the sellers call their lender and demand to have the negotiators auth revoked and had the attorney close the file.  I have actually done this a few times to kick out unscrupulous negotiators.

Comment by Larry Hollingsworth on January 25, 2012 at 6:46pm

John help me out here. Are you saying the third party was hired by the servicer and worked in the role of

negotiator and ended up demanding 1% to compensate them? I think I ran into this situation on a recent SS. I had already sent my package to GMAC who was the actual servicer but my client (seller) kept getting calls from a company caledl IMPACT in california who claimed to be the actual note holder. I spoke to them and discovered through some research that they would charge 1% of earned commission to do the deal and I thought that was awfully strange and if they are the note holder then why would they being doing an end around with GMAC who was the actual noteholder. Regardless I felt like I needed to stick with the devil I knew rather than one I did not know. In typical GMAC fashion the did cut commission to 5% and we did a 2.5% split.

Comment by Danielle Graychik on January 25, 2012 at 5:25pm

I closed a deal recently in which my buyers offered the list price on a short sale. They were cash buyers. The agent called and suggested we reduce our offer by 10k and use the 10k for any fees the bank refused to pay and a potential lien on the property. The negotiator ( representing himself as an attorney) called, never emailed me and stated that the bank was countering for a price 10k more than the contracted price and asked if my clients would pay it and still be able to pay any fees declined by the bank. My clients said yes. He called a week later and referred to himself as "the value killer" and stated that he had convinced the bank to take the original lower offer. He asked me if my buyers would kick in an extra 5k because he got the value down to what they wanted! I said no of course.  Once we got close to closing, the bank had declined to pay termite and home warranty, this negotiator tells me my buyers will have to pay it themselves and still pay 10k because that was his negotiation fee. Wow, what a scam. Turns out, this negotiator is no attorney, he has a restricted brokers license. My buyers wanted to close and really wanted this house. In the end, once they deposited all monies into escrow, the listing agent had to pay the termite and home warranty and my buyers are out 10k to some broker for his negotiating fees. That's more then my commission by the way. I also asked for full disclosure to both banks that these fees were being paid, I asked to see it on the approval letters as well as the HUD. Of course, they refused to show me the sellers side of the HUD and sent me the buyers side which had 10k as attorney fees, who knows what they sent to the bank. I do know that the second lien holder stated in the approval letter that any extra monies were to be paid to them.

  My broker and I are working on turning him in and I promised my buyers we would. They understood the process but wanted to buy the house and in the end paid what they intended to pay from day one so they are happy with that part, it's just the whole scam part of it. I can't believe the nerve of some of these companies. He does have some attachment to an attorney and they have a website for sellers to get short sale business.  I don't know how many people they have scammed, I am still researching it.

Comment by Steven Pawera on January 25, 2012 at 4:19pm

This scenario was an early concern in the language of the HAFA program where the servicers might utilize 'transaction services' or some bizzare terminology.  (This is a HAFA transaction we are discussing, or I have no idea anyone injected themselves in ot your transaction).

Anyway, I am failry certain I remember reading an SD that specifically prohibited the servicer from paying for there vendor from your commission.  It's probably been incorporated in the latest revision of the servicing manual by now.

And for the future, just remember the most powerful word in negotiation: NO.  Short sales are like poker.  And agents have folded so easily and for so long, the banks expect to get their will.  But if you know the numbers, stand your ground.  Good luck!

Comment by Esperanza Adams on January 25, 2012 at 3:34pm

This has happened to me a few times and it is just unfair! If enough people unite together and challenge them on this fee and report each and everytime, we are sending a HUGE statement that we have had enough. I am sorry to say that most people jump at the servicers redicilous request without saying no. If it is not fair why do we agree? I have not been afraid to say no and send a cancelation of short sale letter (intent) and the servicers have agreed NOT to cut the commission in order to move forward. Try it....

Comment by Lynn d' Lindsey on January 25, 2012 at 12:32pm

Thank you for this article.  I just had a company (NCII) saying they were with Citi Mortgage go to the seller's home in a termite truck, to strong arm them in to using them for a short sale when my sign was already in the yard and the bank had already accepted me for the Short Sale.  My client was handicapped and they had not appointment.  So much fraud going on it is hard to keep up with.  I will share this with our short sale team.

 

Comment by Rose Mencia on January 25, 2012 at 12:21pm

Awesome info!!  Thank YOU!!!!

 

Comment by Kim Marin on January 25, 2012 at 12:13pm

Everybody has their hands in our pockets to grab our meager commissions!  Even if it were a referral fee, the listing brokerage would have had to agree to take the referral.  I always scratch my head when, in our normal course of business, we procure a listing independent of any other entity's efforts, only to get hit with a referral fee after the fact... relocation companies are the worst.  There are many others not much better in the REO & short sale business!

Comment by Sharre DaCosta, CDPE, GRI, SFR on January 25, 2012 at 12:09pm

Thanks, John!  Great information and great post!

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