EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a short “article” - just a transcript of a TV news piece - but I thought it was very significant because it shows us there’s been a big hole in the public education campaign about Short Sales. If it’s news to people that they cannot pursue a Short Sale without first being financially distressed, that’s a clear indicator we’ve still a long road ahead of us when it comes to spreading the Short Sale gospel.
SOURCE: KPHO 5
“For the past 15 years, Karen Warren and her family have been creating lasting memories inside their Scottsdale home.
“It’s been a place of great friendship, comfort, warmth and I love it,” said Warren.
Three months ago, everything changed with a phone call from her husband.”
“He called me Dec. 10 and said he had gotten laid off and I knew we were already under hot water,” Warren said. “We were struggling to maintain things at that time, just deffering interest were still paying $3,100 a month.”
Right away she called Wells Fargo.
“I called them immediately and told them my husband had lost his job I want to be proactive. They said they would call me back and I never heard back from them,” Warren said.
Unable to refinance and owing almost $200,000, the couple knew they’d have to short sell the home to avoid bankruptcy, but according to the bank, they didn’t qualify.
“They don’t want to help you until you actually missed a payment,” Warren said.
Short sale negotiator, Anthony Pellegrini works with the Warrens and almost 100 other clients to negotiate home sales with lenders.
“In many cases we’ve had Fanny Mae say no, they have to be at least 30 days late before Wells Fargo, CitiBank or Bank of America can ever submit them for short sale approval,” Pellegrini said.
“I don’t understand that, I mean you’re trying not to ruin you’re credit, you try to not do the wrong thing and you have to miss a payment, it’s ridiculous,” Warren said.
There are still a number of Valley homeowners Short Selling their homes without missing any payments. For those who can’t, Pellegrini says the next time they want to get a loan for a home, it may be extremely difficult to do so.
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