So I'll spare you all the little details but suffice it to say I've never been a conspiracy theorist until I started working short sales.

I've had a little condo on the market since OCTOBER. We were listed at 135k to start with as in OCTOBER there were some comps to support that. Now, we are in MARCH and the condo market in this little pocket has dropped like a rock. I now have bonafide closed comps of same size, beds, and baths in the 80k range up to about 115k.

This complex is NOT FHA approved, this unit has never been updated (it is original vintage 1970's) and has been smoked in . Things don't work, doors don't open and it borders an industrial area.

So, fast forward, we get an offer for 110k. I submit it. B of A comes back with investor counter of 145k. Yes, HIGHER than the list price we didn't sell at for over 6 months.

How? I have no idea. Except that this property also borders a more "affluent" town and maybe the BPO agent was confused.

So I appealed their value and submitted a full CMA complete with a list of sold comps with 1/2 mile, same beds/baths/size (no adjustments necessary) and all sold THIS YEAR. These supported that our 110k was a VERY good price.

My appeal was declined and here is what the negotiator said (I left response intact including spelling errors):

if the buyer is not willing to come you may want to secure a more reliable buyer..

becasue if they are not willing to increase thei offer the investor will reject it..

Also cash contribution and or prom note would increase the chances of an approval.

This counter should not be returned with Buyers Closing cost at all, unless the buyer is paying 140k.. final notice..

Now , keep in mind that we are in California. This is ONLY ONE loan which is the original purchase money, non recourse loan. So, yes, borrower could just walk away and not deal with any of this, but he wants to do what he feels is the "right thing."

So what is Freddie Mac doing? Whatever it is is it's irresponsible and unfair to be sure. Are they getting a government guarantee of a higher amount to foreclose?

I responded to every person available in the equator system and I wanted to know specifically which of my comps are they ignoring. Seriously. This feels dishonest.

Since we know there is no way this property will sell at 140k, my client said fine, let's just take it off and and they can have it.

Is this what the bail outs have done? Is this really how Freddie Mac operates?

Or is there something I'm missing?

Having the same issue here and it is mostly with fannie and freddie properties. they are contering WAY high. I had a property on the market for a yr and could not sell. finally got an offer of 110 so they countered at 150!!! NO DISCUSSION is basically what we were told. we sent in an appeal that included everything and they came back and said another price would not even be considered for 120 days.

Well, I just called Freddie Mac, hoping they'd act a little like Fannie and at least talk with me. No they say they only communicate with their servicers.

She finally said she'd have a supervisor call to "explain it to me," I already knew she was only patronizing me.

So , I guess Freddie Mac has us all by the b*#% and there is nothing we can do? She only offered me a supervisor after I asked who do I complain to, my senator, Obama, the news media?

If the price was even within a "range" I could understand that, but it is so far out of the reality the rest of us live in, it's clear there is no intent to work with homeowners to short sell.

Please forward copies of all these issues to Colleen B at CAR who is heading the Short Sale Task Force at CAR

colleenb@alterasv.net

The more you send her the more information they have when they meet with political people as well as heads of the major banks to try and get them to understand why we are so frustrated

THANK YOU, Michael for suggesting that. I was discussing these issues with my wife and she said the same thing. NAR needs to be informed about all the absolute CRAP going on, particularly with BofA! We used to do short sales and, about a year ago, decided to change our business model such that we are now buying, fixing, and flipping properties rather than constantly rowing against the tide in an attempt to work with banks who really have NO incentive or motivation (it would seem) to help homeowners OR ready, willing, and able buyers - buy the properties at the fair market value! This is Unconscionable and our Realtor organization (to whom we send lots of money each year) and elected officials should KICK The BANKS in the &ss to give them direction and motivation to get the deals done and help strengthen the home buying market!!

Quoting Duane DeSalvo:

THANK YOU, Michael for suggesting that. I was discussing these issues with my wife and she said the same thing. NAR needs to be informed about all the absolute CRAP going on, particularly with BofA! We used to do short sales and, about a year ago, decided to change our business model such that we are now buying, fixing, and flipping properties rather than constantly rowing against the tide in an attempt to work with banks who really have NO incentive or motivation (it would seem) to help homeowners OR ready, willing, and able buyers - buy the properties at the fair market value! This is Unconscionable and our Realtor organization (to whom we send lots of money each year) and elected officials should KICK The BANKS in the &ss to give them direction and motivation to get the deals done and help strengthen the home buying market!!

Duane,

You mention some key things taking place. I started doing short sales over 3 years ago when I only saw the market going down, down, down.

Now that our market has come to a point that values have gone down so much that it does not matter if they go down a little more (properties easily cash flow here and it's cheaper to buy then rent), you are spot on about wasting time with the banks.

Short sales were great to pay the bills during tough times when anybody with a clue knew the fall was going to continue after the "programs" ended.... but today... there are MUCH better things to be doing then bending over backwards for the banks for minimum wage.

Makes you wonder what will happen as more agents catch on...

Exactly, Paul! I'm amazed that so many agents are determined enough to keep plugging away when these *&*(&(*&$ banks don't seem to care whether the properties are sold or not. They're damned lucky that there are agents still willing to put up with their crap. SOMETHING has got to change (hopefully for the better) or the housing market will really crash. It does make one questions whether it's really better for a homeowner to just walk away as the effect on their credit probably won't be much worse than if they weathered the short sale process. The only benefit, I can see, is the ability to live in the house for many months rent free!!

Well... the loan servicers such as B of A really don't care since they can drag on the short sale process and rack up the servicing fees to turn around to charge to Freddie Mac who has been getting Billions of taxpayer $$$ to continue the sham...

I got ahold of a foreclosure "servicing" fees rate sheet by Bank of America.... and I can tell you.... the fees are so overinflated it's ridiculous ($375 to change out to those cheap locks for just one example)...

Loan servicing is big money.. Fannie & Freddie are getting billions of taxpayer dollars... throw in the couple of trillion of printed money to buy mortgage backed securities (QE1 and QE2) ..... and the big joke is on Joe and Jane Mainstreet.

We can complain about the short sale process all we want but there is a reason why the term "banksters" is used by those that understand what is going on behind the scenes.

Understand that... the MBS market, why mark to market rules were changed and how keeping the REO inventory levels at levels where there is more demand then supply and you'll understand a lot of the frustrations involved with why the loan servicers act the way they do.