Bank of America and HAFA Short Sale Credit Report

Stepping foot on a public beach with seagulls for the very first time is daunting if all you worry about is whether a bird will poop on your head, but that’s the very thought that ran through my mind when I first walked along the ocean in California. Same thing at our resort on the Florida Gulf at Marco Island — although there are a lot more birds and fewer people. Fewer people in a resort around Christmas time means we are not forced to make a reservation for dinner, which was a huge drawback at Four Seasons and the Fairmont in Hawaii.

When a person is on vacation, a person wants to relax and not be subject to stupid rules and regulations with unnecessary restraints on time. A person expects the resort to anticipate her every desire, like this Sacramento short sale agent tries to do for her own clients. A person wants the leisure to make decisions if and when decisions are necessary. Clocks? Who needs clocks? Cellphones? OK, I do carry my cell. My house sitters could call with an emergency and one of our cats could be choking. Or I might need to identify a bird we just spotted using my handy dandy Audubon bird app. Or I might need to know if there is a Pinata party planned for tonight on Plants vs. Zombies. Important details.

I called a client on our first night at Marco Island to let her know that her short sale in Roseville had closed. She is fighting with Bank of America because the negotiators at the bank don’t seem to realize that the guidelines for HAFA short sale credit reporting have changed. My seller is so polite and nice. When the negotiator told her she needed to put her on hold while she discussed the situation with her supervisor, my client acquiesced. See, I suspect the negotiator used this time to go down the hall and buy a Diet Coke.

I would have demanded to speak with the supervisor myself. Tell ya what, I would have snarled, I’ll hold and you go get the supervisor. We sent a copy of the guidelines to the negotiator. We copied the guideline verbiage and cited section number. We sent the C.A.R. memo about credit reporting for a HAFA short sale.

Because I am not a lawyer, I can’t really fight with the bank at this point. This is a fight my client will need to undertake herself to make sure the reporting is done correctly. In a HAFA short sale for which there was no foreclosure proceeding started, the guidelines say the short sale must be reported to the credit bureau as Paid in Full. Not paid in full for less than agreed. Other Bank of America borrowers have had to fight this fight after closing, but they have won, and I have full confidence that my former seller will win as well.

Photo: Marco Island, Florida, by Elizabeth Weintraub