Great meeting at The Muljat Group's Tuesday Staff meeting!
Our guest speaker was Mr. Jim Logghe, Sr. VP Residential Loans, Banner Bank, Bellingham, Washington.
It was a pleasure to hear Mr. Logghe speak about short sales, deed in lieu and foreclosures. One of the most important statements made at this morning's meeting: best advice to your client is to contact an attorney and their lender immediately when confronted with any of these situations.
Mr. Logghe was able to give a basic description of Banner Bank's position regarding short sale versus a deed in lieu and foreclosure. Banner would rather, if possible, do a short sale. As was reiterated, all banks are handling these procedures differently, that is why it is so important to work closely with the lender, attorney and your agent.
How is a short sale/deed in lieu, foreclosure impact your credit score/FICO score. Mr. Logghe was not able to give the group an answer to that question. Seems the three credit rating agencies are keeping that information to themselves. Perhaps the best answer to that question would be to have the borrower call the agency and ask the question point blank. I've tried and haven't gotten a definiteanswer. Maybe after you talk to the credit agencies, give your legislative representative a call and let your voice be heard!
The big question is will the lender have recourse on the deficiency? It should be in the fine print of the lenders contract and that is why the seller should contact an attorney. The attorney should be able to navigate the seller through documents and let them know if there will be recourse or no recourse.
Next question: how long will this transaction take? There is no way of knowing. Each lender is going to have different work loads, different procedures and different levels of the checker checking the checker.
Sounds like there is not a definite answer to any of your, mine or our questions. You're right! That is why it is necessary to get the best possible information--see an attorney, open up communication with your lender.
I think we are all working very hard to navigate in uncharted waters.
I hope this blog was informative. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call.
Wes
