Document All Conversations and Transaction Details

For all of our short sale transactions, we log the date and details of every conversation, fax submission, and commitments made. Keeping meticulous records show the level of professionalism that you bring, and inspire the trust and cooperation with your bank representative. When we have a call with a lender representative, we have a template that we follow: verify basic information (date of the call, their name, trustee sale status, name of the current negotiator), inquire about any new status notes for the short sale application, and ask if there is anything else we can do to help them complete their processing of the file. During subsequent calls, you can assist the lender representatives recall specific items from past conversations.

There are times when a lender has not followed through on a timeline, claims to not have received certain documents, provide you with nothing but generic information, or just tell you to call back in a week because there is no information. While it may be tempting to use this information to prove them wrong, being impeccable with your word means that you use this information as a tool for collaboration. You may receive a response such as “We still waiting for a BPO (Broker's Priced Opinion) appraisal for this property”, and you may want to respond with anger and frustration because you met the appraiser at the subject property three weeks ago.

Instead, focus on the fact that the BPO is still required in order for the file to proceed to the next step. Provide the bank representative with information such as when the BPO was ordered, when the appointment was made, and when the appointment was completed. Offer to have the appraiser resubmit the BPO appraisal, or even to send it directly to the bank negotiator. Rather than accusing them of being inefficient, offer to provide helpful information to their management, such as appraisals that are arriving late or that are misfiled internally. Providing assistance may result in a manager taking the time to research what may have happened to the file, and perhaps contact their appraisal company directly.

Keep in mind that the bank representative also has a screen on their end, where details of all previous calls have been logged into their database. They may even have the call recorded if there ever happens to be a dispute. Be careful to provide truthful and accurate information, such as “I called on January 20th, and spoke with your colleague John, who informed me that the BPO was imaged into your system”. Being specific and accurate will help them locate a missing file within their system, while making false claims will cost you your credibility and the cooperation of that bank representative. Always keep in mind that information that is logged on both sides can be used to fuel an argument or to facilitate a solution. Remember to think with a collaborative approach whenever you use and share information with your bank representative.

Look out for our future blogs/articles from our Short Sale Leadership Series content.

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