Fighting the Short Sale Lender Values
Posted on December 11, 2015 byI have spoken with many Realtors and Investors who informed me that they are not interested in listing or buying short sales because the Short Sale Lenders are always higher than the actual value of the property.
I have stressed over the years how important it is to meet the Realtor or Appraiser that was sent from the Short Sale Lender at the house with the Purchase Agreement, Hardship Letter, Comparables, Crime Report of the Area and Repair Estimate for the property in order for the Short Sale Lender to have the actual value of the property.
The BPO Agent/Appraiser does not provide to the Short Sale Lender the Crime Report or the Repair Estimate on the property. This information is provided by the Listing Agent or the Negotiator representing the Seller when you have to dispute the value. In fact, a BPO Agent may only have 3 little boxes to include the costs of the repairs so they can’t always include all the repair costs that the house really needs.
The BPO Agent/Appraiser has been informed from the Short Sale Lender that they do NOT consider cosmetic repairs. So what are cosmetic repairs? Paint, Carpet, Appliances and updates of kitchens, bathrooms, roof and air conditioning unit that are functional.
When I work with investors and ask them to provide me with a Repair Estimate on the property, I find that they normally include all the cosmetic repairs making their Repair Estimate in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. I believe that your repair estimate should not be more than $30,000. The Short Sale Lenders are not interested in updating the house, they are just looking to sell it at the highest value, even if your house is outdated and all the other houses are updated.
So you met the BPO Agent/Appraiser out at the house and there are times when they still don’t give the bank the true value of the property. What went wrong?
First off, once the value is provided to the Short Sale Lender and they counter the Buyer, you will need to ask the Negotiator about the comparables used for the property and how much repair costs were reflected on that value. I also ask the Negotiator “is the value a Reconciliation Value?” What is a Reconciliation Value? This is where the BPO Agent/Appraiser provided the actual value of the property and the Short Sale Lender doesn’t like the value that they were given. So, they send the BPO/Appraisal report to their Reconciliation Department who looks on Zillow and other internet systems to adjust the value of the property that they received in order to increase the number to a value that they like! You would think that since the Short Sale Lender hired a third party (Realtor or Appraiser), that they would believe the value that was provided, however, they don’t. Therefore, you will have to dispute the value that the Short Sale Lender has on the property.
A value on a short sale is good for 90 days if it is a BPO and if it is a full Appraisal it could be good for 4-6 months depending on the type of loan the Seller has on the property. Each Short Sale Lender has a certain way to dispute value. You will need to ask the Negotiator how you can dispute value. Some will use Homepath.com and require you to upload all this information into their system or others will just tell you to provide them the documents and then they will send it back to the Reconciliation Department for consideration. So what do you provide to the Short Sale Lender to dispute value?
- Comparables of similar sales in the neighborhood no more than ½ mile away that have sold in the last 6 months.
- A Crime Report of the Area
- Articles of the area that state the values are down in that area (Note: please make sure you read the article to make sure there is no upswing in the article that will say the property values in the areas are rising)
- Repair Estimates with pictures
- An Appraisal of the property from an Appraiser (other than the bank’s 3rd party Appraiser)
You will also need to know that if you dispute the value and they review the value on the property, does it add additional time to when the value is good. For Example: I was disputing a Fannie Mae loan through Home Path and was informed after they reviewed all the information including an Appraisal that they added an additional 2 months to the time that the value is good until.
The Short Sale Lenders will refuse to order another value on the property when they have a value that they consider valid. If after finding out how long the value is valid until, you disputed the value and they didn’t change it, the best thing is if you can’t buy it for that value or sell it for that value, you will have to wait until the Short Sale Lender’s value has expired and request another BPO or Appraisal on the property.
The lesson on this Article is to be prepared and always, always, always meet the BPO Agent/Appraiser at the house. Remember to ask the Short Sale Negotiator if the value they have on the property is a reconciliation value, what comparables were used, how much was taken into consideration for the repairs and how long the value on the property is valid. Once you know all of this information, you should be able to fight the value on the property correctly. When you win in the dispute, don’t think that it is over, as the Short Sale Lender will then order another BPO/Appraisal on the property to confirm the information that you provided to them is correct.
Thank you so much to all of you who continue to send me your questions and topics that are most helpful for you to read about. Your Success is important to me, please let me know how I can help!!!
Happy Negotiating!
Kimberlee Frank
Kimberlee Frank is a Master Negotiator who has closed over 600 deals since 1998. She is a Mentor, Trainer, Author and Real Estate Broker teaching Investors and Realtors how to creatively purchase and sell short sales with her Step-by-Step System. She has helped Investors and Realtors earn hundreds of thousands of dollars.
