How to beat a bank in 5 days: Final Chapter

How to Beat a Bank in 5 days: Conclusion

This is the final part to a multi-episode, written depiction of a real life short sale.

It’s been awhile since I last updated this story, partly because we were working the short sale and partly because the outcome was so brutal. After much waiting, I beat the loan servicing company (which was amazing given the fact that the negotiator was the single most unpleasant person I have ever talked to), then I beat Fannie Mae and they approved the file, and then (cue ominous music)……the mortgage insurance company said they won’t agree to the sale unless the borrower signed a $25,000 note payable at approximately $350/month. One word (no, it’s not that word). Awesome.

I tried to get them to settle for less, to give a cash option, etc., because maybe, just maybe, the buyer would be willing to contribute to make the deal happen or we could find another solution. Just to summarize, 1) The seller couldn’t make their mortgage payment because they didn’t have the money 2) they had to uproot their family from a home they loved because they didn’t have the money 3) They couldn’t sell because the house was worth about ½ as much as they paid and they didn’t have the money to sell and make up the difference. So logically, the MI company realizing how much money the seller had (clearly defined above in the summary…ZERO), decided their portion of zero is $25k.

Needless to say, the deal fell apart and another foreclosure hit the market. To further illustrate the incompetence, we had an offer about $35k higher than the valuations the bank and previously mentioned idiots had in their possession, the mortgage insurance company still has to pay the bank the same amount, the buyer didn’t get the house, the brokers didn’t get paid, and Fannie Mae added to their ever-increasing property tax bill for Deschutes County. Oh and by the way, when the property came back on the market, the list price was $10,000 less than our offer.

Moral of the story: The banks, Fannie Mae, and mortgage insurance companies don’t care about the borrowers. They accept zero responsibility for their lending standards and practices and blame everything on the homeowners. Good news for them though, Uncle Sam will continue to fund their massacre of the people who are trying to do the right thing. I’m sick of it and my heart goes out to those who are dealing with this. End of rant.

Other parts of this series:

Part I: https://movetobend.com/2011/03/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-part-i/

Part II: https://movetobend.com/2011/03/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-part-ii/

Part III: https://movetobend.com/2011/03/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-part-iii/

Final Chapter: https://movetobend.com/2011/06/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-final-chapter/