Today while searching the web for the next million dollar idea, I again found myself stunned with all of the horror stories and difficulties that are posted online
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I have been reading all over the web (ActiveRain not to be excluded) that it seems that people are finding issues and having problems with Bank of America‘s new Equator.com turning difficult short sales into nightmares. Although, I have about a dozen active files in equator and now have successfully closed several short sales via this new system it looks like that not only are Real Estate Agents and homeowners having problems with Equator.com’s systems but it seems that the negotiator’s and there support teams’ internally to the bank are having many issues on their own system. I was on the phone with one of my associates here at ACG in the bulk short sale processing department and he was venting to me about all the problems he had on just one file with equator.com.
He stated even before this Short Sale made it to the Equator.com System it was a troublesome file. It first was a Countrywide serviced loan that got transferred into the new bunk Bank of America Loan Servicing System. Once Bank of America merged into what was left of Countrywide Home Loan Servicing the file then just sat there and was neglected. Finally to be assigned to a negotiator my colleague had to contact a Bank of America supervisor to get the file out of the crack it had fallen into at the bank. Rhe only way the bank would review this sale was though the “REOTrans” system which had been renamed as “Equator.com” to reflect the fact that the original REO company had expanded to new horizons. Finally on the “right track” as he was able to upload all the necessary documents on our part he had to force BoA to get a negotiator assigned. You’d think it should be smooth sailing from here but then the nightmare was back, as the tasks assigned to the negotiator all became past its due. Our negotiator called the short sale support team to only find out that there were additional tasks assigned to this negotiator that should have in fact be assigned to a “back office equator department”. The representative stated that the negotiator should have seen these improperly assigned tasked and reassigned them. At the end of the phone call with Short Sale Support the representative escalated the file to management once again. Then at the end of his escalation period he received an internal email via equator.com from the Equator.com “Vice President” that stated he was sorry for the inconvenience and he would try to figure out what the issues were. It has now been two weeks since he has heard from anyone
I thank god and my lucky stars that I have not run into any of these issues yet… (as I type this I am knocking on wood my oak desk), but many of the other negotiators here have some nightmare stories to share. I though i could shed some light on many issues to provide anyone some of the tricks i have come across. I hate to say it but resolving these issues for agents, homeowners, attorneys, loan officers and anyone trying to deal with these mortgage company in no matter what capacity (loan modification, short sale, short refinance, etc.) these problems are what keep us in business. Who wants to deal with these issues besides someone who is dedicated to dealing with these day in and day out.
A few tips I can provide off hand are when you call the Bank of America support line and you get another new representative (every time 
) on the phone, it is best to ask if they are trained in handling equator files and have full access from the programs they need to help you. Different call centers do not have full access to equator.com systems while others do. Even then knowing the right people in any business is the difference between getting your deals done and getting your deals dropped!
Related posts:
- Equator.com: If you aren’t doing short sales, what are you doing with your time? Today we received the message below from the CEO of Equator just was we are sure many of you did...
- ACG and BAC Home Loans Servicing Lp. connect for BULK Short Sale Processing Starting in 2005, Absolute Consultant Group’s(ACG) counselors sought out to solve mortgage problems no longer from the confines of Countrywide’s Loss Mitigation Department. At that time they...
- Bank of America: Understanding BAC Loan Servicing LP’s acceptance of Counter Offer Terms Realtors have told us the better they understand the counter offer process, the more successful they are in closing short...
- Bank of America: How long before they respond using Equator? Due to our volume of business with Bank of America we frequently get asked approximately how long it takes us...
- BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP: Bank of America Short Sale Information: Awaiting Valuation While processing short sales through the Equator system, once known as REOTrans around this time last year, we received a...
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Erum,
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Jonathan Katz | Management |Mortgage Lender Report