Last week I posted The Short Sale From Hell — about the trials and tribulations of dealing with a short sale, and in particular the lender, Ocwen.
On Friday, the deal closed. Ocwen got their money, and I got my (substantially reduced) commission check.
So all is well, right?
Well . . . not so much.
Sadly, the buyer agent’s broker requires a signature from Ocwen on a document before he will pay the buyer’s agent.
Sounds like the buyer’s agent problem, no?
Well . . . not really.
Neither the buyer’s agent nor their broker is authorized to discuss the loan with Ocwen. Only the seller and I have permission to do that. Ocwen won’t give the buyer’s agent the time of day.
So back to the phone I go, to help my fellow agent get paid her (substantially reduced) commission.
What an eff’ing nightmare this turns out to be!
First call: One of Ocwen’s “Loan Resolution Consultants” claims it is “against Ocwen policy” to sign this letter (despite the fact that THEY put their own signature block on the document, and left it unsigned).
I ask to speak to a supervisor, and of course, promptly get disconnected. Leading to..
Second call: Supervisor says, “I can’t sign that, I’ll have someone call you.” So far over the last three months, Ocwen is batting 0.000 in calling me back.
Their batting average has yet to improve.
Third call: After waiting on hold 47 minutes, I get, “Our system is down, you need to call back.” When queried as to why they didn’t just put a message on their hold line indicating they can’t help, I got, “Uh. That’s probably a good idea.” I explain to the rep that I can easily fax them a page, he can sign it and fax it back. Problem solved.
Nope. No can do.
“Is your fax machine down too?”
“No, but I’m not allowed to give you the fax number.”
“But I have the fax number.”
“That goes to India, not here.”
“For the love of God man, I just need a signature, ANY signature.”
“I can have a supervisor call you back.”
Sigh….
Technorati Tags: Short sales, Ocwen sucks
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pat monahan 11.20.07 at 3:29 pm
The broker can have a requirement for commission from the agent and from the buyer, but they can’t require a third outside party to do something. It sounds like that agent needs another broker.
Purva Brown 11.20.07 at 7:10 pm
Oh my God, how horrible! I hope you get it resolved.
I have (almost) signed off short sales. The files mysteriously end up in the foreclosure department and a lot of the times, short sales attract buyers that have a flair for the dramatic, just when the agents have had enough drama.
Good luck though. I really hope there’s hope for the Realtors involved.
John Wake 11.20.07 at 7:11 pm
ARMLS should require a special field for Short Sales so I can exclude them from searches.
I could also search exclusively for short sales whenever I feel like there aren’t enough homes for sale or I would like to substantially reduce my commission.
AT 11.20.07 at 7:21 pm
Bah, screw em. Have one of your kids sign the document and move on. You’ve tried the right way, now get it done.
Late Night Austin Real Estate Blog 11.21.07 at 1:45 pm
Short sales drive me crazy. The only two things I feel I am learning is 1) I really hope the percent of short sales in Austin doenst increase because I hate them 2) alot of these lenders really deserve to go out of business.
Chris Lengquist 11.21.07 at 3:49 pm
Sounds like a depressing situation. I know here in Kansas/Missouri I can put in my file that the corp would not sign. My broker accepts that and, more importantly, the states accept that. You may wish to have that agent check with the state over his/her broker. It may be less of a hassle.
Sadly, with corps, this happens ALL THE TIME. So I had to figure a way around it.
justwant tohelp 11.25.07 at 3:27 pm
debbie.paul@ocwen.com is who would sign that document.
good luck
anonoymus employee…..
Michael Spickes 11.27.07 at 10:41 pm
Short Sales! Why are real estate agents turning their back on such an awesome business opportunity?
For the most part, real estate agents don’t like the term “Short Sale”! They see them as troublesome or problematic when, instead, given the current market conditions nationwide, they should be viewed as the ultimate niche opportunity in real estate that not too many agents are taking advantage of! For the most part, this business seems very transactional for them. Agents say “If one short sale transaction has problems, them all of them must have problems!” After closing hundreds of these transactions, this ideology simply isn’t true! As stated in Michael Gerber’s “E-Myth”, you should be working on your business, not in your business. Too many real estate professionals are too caught up in working in their business and not on it. Is this why 8 out of 10 agents don’t last beyond their first year in real estate? Is it because most agents are operating with only a purpose, not necessarily a niche? For us, working short sales, collecting commissions in volume, and treating this niche as a vehicle to grow a wealth-building machine has been one of the best things we have ever done. Why are so many real estate agents turning their noses up at Short Sales? Do they really think they’re too difficult? Are they too busy doing what they know how to do and don’t want to venture out into trying something new? With 435,000 foreclosures in the first quarter of this year, do the math. If the average commission is $5,000, $10,000, $15,000+ and half of these people were to be saved from foreclosure, can you see the commissions that could be paid that the banks are prepared to pay? For all of those who have turned their nose up at these transactions, please consider this. For every short sale that seems problematic, there are 3-4 others that will keep you coming back.
Have the right Short Sale tools in place, trust the source of the tools, and utilize them!
Michael Spickes
America’s Home Rescue
RAY HELTON 12.13.07 at 7:34 pm
I LOVE WHAT YOU SAID.
HOW CAN I GET STARTED?
WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO START?
MY BROKER DOESN’T HELP.
DR LOVE
TUCSON,AZ
heather 02.02.08 at 4:51 pm
Hey, I am currently trying to purchase a home through a short sale with Ocwen…….I submitted the “short sale package” by faxing it to them….their reply?…..they faxed back a request for the contents of the short sale package, basically the same package I just faxed them. So, being as crafty as I am, I overnighted the completed short sale package….their reply? they faxed back a request for the contents of the short sale package……
Where did you send your stuff that actually got looked at by a person?
Jay - The Phoenix Real Estate Guy 02.02.08 at 5:20 pm
Heather - welcome to the nightmare that is Ocwen.
My client (the owner) had to fax their paperwork in 4 or 5 times. When offers came in, it wasn’t unusual to fax and re-fax them a couple of times. And just wait until Ocwen has to fax you something. They’ll say they did it a few times before you actually receive it.
It sounds like they may be looking for the owners paperwork, not the buyer’s package. Has the owner submitted everything they need?
I’ll see if I can dig up the number, but it may take a couple of days. You want to be talking to people in the “Loss mitigation” department.
Ocwen can be excruciating to deal with…
Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com 02.20.08 at 11:11 am
Frankly, Short Sales Suck. I am considering payment up front from buyers that want to take that 1 in 20 chance of one closing.
Frank
Shannon Jones 02.25.08 at 3:50 pm
OK, did you ever get a phone number for anyone in the loan resolution or collateral department where you didn’t get repeatedly sent to a call center in India and then hung up on? I’m currently trying to deal with a short sale with Ocwen now and they are absolutely a nightmare to deal with.
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy 02.25.08 at 4:09 pm
Shannon - sadly, no. I wish I had a number or name for you, but I never found that person. An “anonymous” Ocwen employee left an email address up above in the comments, but three emails to that person went unanswered.
I do feel your pain if that helps.
heather 02.26.08 at 4:17 pm
My realtor actually got to talk to someone…..after about 3 weeks, they denied my initial offer, told her what they needed bottom line (this was today at 10:00 am) I countered with just enough to get to their bottom line and by 3:00 they accepted….the property I am buying has a substantial tax lien on it and I successfully got the IRS to discharge the lien so that I can get the title free and clear….all told, the whole process took about a month. I called my mortgage guy to get the ball rolling, because I have to close before March 26 for the IRS, and he actually said it was too much pressure and he didn’t want my business. Found someone else at noon and was approved through Freddie Mac by 3:30. Hang in there and just keep trying…..I know when I called Ocwen, they transferred me to the “collections” department…the guy from India said that is who handles the short sale.
heather 02.27.08 at 8:02 pm
I have an email for the loan resolution department LRC.Processor@ocwen.com and try this phone number is you haven’t already 888-779-2857 hopefully it can help someone
Hollie Dustin 03.19.08 at 2:49 am
Well, your dilemma is over. Ocwen is no longer accepting ANY short sales, period. If you don’t have written approval in hand, it isn’t going to happen.
These folks have proven to be absolutely the least professional company I have ever dealt with in trying to get a short sale approved, and then just simply announce…sorry, we are not going to do them anymore.
Jake Carter 03.25.08 at 7:02 pm
I am currently dealing with Ocwen on a SS. They service our 2nd, WaMu has the 1st. I called and talked with a manager I have been working with to ask about them not doing short sales anymore. He said that it is true only where they service the 1st and the 2nd is with someone else. In that situation they feel they can impact their bottom line less by dealing with the property as REO and sending the customer to their collections company. When they service both the 1st and 2nd they will look at doing a short sale only if the 1st will be paid in full and the 2nd is not taking a 100% loss. In the situation like mine where they service only the 2nd they really have no choice other than to take it given the current market
Joseph Bridges 07.19.08 at 10:26 am
Found this post from one of your most recent posts. Short sales were a challenge last yearand this year they seem to have been even more challenging. OCWEN seems to be more in bank owned mode now, so I guess we won’t have to worry about too many hassles with short sales and OCWEN.
Julia Bridge Phoenix Real Estate 07.20.08 at 11:09 am
Just a positive note for OCwen. I am in the midst of a Bank Owned Purchase with Ocwen. The property was listed at $104,900..on mkt for a year, stigmatized by a suicide. They accepted a low ball of $80,000 PLUS Ameridrea and closing costs! THEN, the A/C is inoperable and needs to be replaced. They have agrred to pay half to have it replaced! (Because of it being an FHA Loan that will not fund if the A/C is inoperable.)
As you said, they must be most concened with Foreclosed props.
Who out there REFUSES to do ss and what do clients think about that?