Central Florida Short Sales: Bank of America and Equator.com make it personal.

Reserved for TLW

BB, that is rather a no brainer for a buyer if they want to purchase the house. Hope this really does help to get these sales wrapped up!

don't see much of a problem here. if so, there are plenty of others to choose from. thanks for the info!

Yes Broker Bryant I agree with you.  I had some difficulty persuading a buyer to give up a their personal information.   But they wanted the house, so wasn't a difficult sell in the end.  But  I can see how some buyers may have issues with giving up such information.  

I say submit the information and I do not see a problem if it gets buyers one step closer to closing BB.

It's an invasion of privacy, but so what?

If you want the bank's money you've got to play by their rules!

People have a choice, they can be a social reformer or a home owner.

Bill

Bryant- I don't get it. I never did get why BofA ties their short payoffs to a buyer instead of to the seller. That is why we had to start all over again over and over again in the first place. It is all about control. I am sorry, but I don't care how great they make the short sale process of what they ask for I still am not going to ever like BofA for their sleezy practices that if we as agents did would lose our licenses. Did you know that if you do REO's with BofA they score you based on how many buyers you push to get their loan through BofA? Why in the world would you ever want your buyer to get a loan from BofA? Just my rant.

I don't believe in social justice or social reform so to speak but I do believe that the banks should be allowed to fail. I believe they have way too much power and control in our country- the same that Thomas Jefferson warned us about over 200 years ago.

Hi Bryant... if BofA is taking the loss and calling the shots then I guess that they get to make the rules.  I, personally, don't like it one bit, but buyers who don't agree can simply find another house to buy.  It's really that simple.  It's a control thing and in this case, BofA has stacked the deck in their favor.

hmmm.they have the 1st 5 digits of your ss# floating around in the internet jungle and other places request the last 4 of your ss# for identification purposes. Also now floating around the internet. Am I just being paranoid..or is this a problem for any one else?

Of course, I am definately not a BofA fan, so it could just be a rant on my part.

I say I agree with you.  Very strange.  I don't see what the first five would do for them.  Give me the first three and I can tell you what state you were born in...   Are they discrimating against certain state residents?!?!  Seriously though, weird, say I.

BB - I'm glad to hear you are hearing the time is shorter, but that is not the info I have been hearing in our neck of the woods. The information needed is reasonably straightfoward although I am not sure why they need the SS info, even if only partial. Can't see why this makes any difference esp. given it is the first 5 instead of the last four which is the standard practice. Weird. Hard to trust 'em, I'm afraid. I have had buyers who refuse to go after a BOA short sale because of the issues.

Jeff

I have no problem with this information if the buyer doesn't.  The problem is when they loose the file, get hacked or give it to third parties without authorization, and the list goes on and on...

BB,

Most buyers are okay with this once they realize it is "play ball or lose the home." And as a listing agent, I'd rather know up front if the buyers are not 100% committed!

Sounds like a great way for bank of America to not sell their properties.  What does BOA do if the buyer is a coproration, land trust, or some other entity? 

From the desk of David Dee,

BB, I have a buyer recently and requested them to provide this info and they did without hesitation. I was afraid they would object to this as this is not commonplace. I guess I was lucky. Some would refrained from providing this personal info.

I do not like it, but there has not been much happening lately that I do like.

This does not surprise me.  But maybe this can be a way to assess a persons ability to deal with all a Short sale entails.   Best of Luck with it BB

I don't think it's too big of a deal. There are countless ways for people to get your personal info that I don't think this will be any worse. I'm happy to hear that BoA short sales are going to be quicker soon. I usually don't even have to tell buyers about Bank of America. They already know and normally tell me "let's avoid short sales," because of it. I'm glad they are fixing things slowly but surely.

It surprises me that so many don't know that there services including SS, that can identify you with your birth date and just the first five digits.

If your lenders were doing serious quality control they'd know.

Bill

This is alot, Bryant. At first, I was inclined to agree with you, that buyers balking at this jsut don't want to buy a short sale. However, Jim Palmer #9 makes a point that I am no so comfortable with - it's strange indeed to be asking for the 1st 5 of SS, when the last 4 of SS are also out there available...put two and two together, and you have the recipe for id theft, which the banks could ultimately be responsible for...hmmmm

I think it sounds good, but we will certainly see. I've heard a couple agents talk about how they have gotten temporary approval from 3rd stage negotiators, then be told they now have to go through this new system. Doesn't make a lot of buyers very happy when they feel they are starting all over again.

Hm, as you stated what Equator is asking is less than what the buyer would have to reveal in closing. 

However, BofA has done very little to earn the public's trust of it.  Their own lenders shudder.  So I can see why it is rather alarming to a buyer to give up first #5 digits to a new online system.  Why they didn't simply ask for last 5 if they had to do something different than others is beyond me. 

I have a buyer who is entangled with them right now as we have submitted a short sale offer to them.  EVery time I read about them or have to deal with them, I seriously can't help but to say a quick prayer to God to put a protective hedge around them.  I hate feeling like my buyers could possibly be handed to the wolves in sheep's clothing.  But heck I guess they are all wolves, some more domesticated than others...

It is nerve-racking for consumers to share personal information.  As a real estate broker, I am not crazy about having to obtain information related to their SSN - it is information that I don't really want in my files.

The conclusion that the request of buyer SSN and DOB is "ok" because a buyer would have to provide that information to obtain financing is flawed for two obvious reasons:

1.  A cash buyer would not need financing, thus this information would never be provided.

2.  Obtaining financing is a relationship between the buyer and their lender of choice, not Bank of America nor its processing affiliate Equator.  No agent in the process would ever need to know either of those pieces of information.

The conclusion that this information can be used to verify "arm's length" status is also flawed, since the information provided cannot uniquely identify an individual.  Buyer, seller, and both agents can sign affidavits confirming "arm's length" status, if necessary.

So what is the solution?  It is a simple one:  do not provide real information.  I know of at least one reported instance where an agent put 000-00 for the SSN and used her own DOB...that short sale was approved.  I would *HIGHLY* recommend everyone do something similar.  For one, it protects the interests of the buyer.  Second, it sends the message that this irrelevant information will not be provided, as it is unnecessary.

Ryan, I believe you are right on all accounts. I made up some numbers today on a couple of entries. We'll see how it turns out.

Hi all,

Found this site because I'm about to go through this same process as a buyer.  My agent is asking me for my 5-digits, dob, etc for BoA's Equator system.  I'm not sure why they even need the ssn since I won't be using them as my lender (and I may even well pay cash for the property).  If you think about it, once anyone has your first 5-digits, it's not hard to get the rest.  You can see this site that explains why:  http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/secu/article.php/3828716/Social-Security-Numbers-Easy-to-Hack.htm

Anyway, I'm interested to hear from Bryant if putting in "fake" ssn numbers worked or not.  If it worked, that means those SSNs weren't used in the way most of us would think of (e.g. pulling credit).  And if so, I would ask my agent if she could put a fake one for me too.  Let me know.  Thanks!

-Los

They are asking me for bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns.  Sound like most of you got off easy.  Am I just being scammed?

Hi Roma. No you're not. They always need from the seller the items you have listed plus a financial statements and a hardship letter.

Short Sale Buyers and Sellers who ignore the Arms Length requirements risk legal consequences - both criminal and civil.