This is a story that despite being fraught with difficulties, has a happy ending. It is partially about the difficulties we sometimes experience with short sales; it is partially about the hoops one must go through to obtain a loan, but mostly it is a sorry tale of complete, absolute and total lack of customer service that a client of Bank of America can expect today.
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? We had out of state clients that were looking to buy a home in the Cave Creek area, having lived there previously. Naturally, we encouraged them to get pre-approved so that they would not be hampered, should we locate the perfect home. They were well-qualified, with a down payment of 20%, and they told us that they would contact Bank of America, an institution they had used previously, with success. We have long held reservations regarding BofA, which are beyond the scope of this article, but we had no choice but to allow them to proceed. So they called BofA. Again and again and again! That's right, they had to call three times before they were to receive the courtesy of a reply. Personally, I would have dumped them then and there on that basis alone. Unfortunately, the buyers' previous experiences had created a loyalty to BofA that was neither warranted nor deserved, as they would now confess today. As you are no doubt aware, the purchase contract in Arizona requires an addendum called the Loan Status Report (LSR) which, in part, informs the seller as to how far along the process of getting a loan the buyer is. Additionally, it requires that the lender respond to enquiries during the escrow period from the agents involved so that everyone is up to speed. BofA do not "DO" LSRs. Such is their arrogance that they choose to transact business in a state that requires such a form, whilst essentially thumbing their nose at the process. Instead, they give you a "Buyer Ready Approval Certificate" and promise to close the loan within 30 days, or...or, nothing, actually. They make the promise, but there is no penalty if they fail, so it is an empty one. Curiously, when we asked our clients if they had furnished all their tax returns, etc., they told us that BofA said not to bother, until they found a home. Hmm! In reality, they were only really pre-qualified, not pre-approved. The fact is that BofA do not care to perform the necessary work ahead of time, instead they prefer to have you jump through hoops, (hoops that could have been cleared weeks earlier) during the escrow period. It may delay your closing, but better that than have them do their due diligence ahead of time, after all, you are just the customer, right?
As an aside, we were in back-up position on a short sale at this time. Then, the phone call. The original buyers had backed out, so it was ours if we wanted it. We did. BofA swing into inaction. Their ability to return a call was non-existent. Their communication skills dreadful. The "personal banker" that had begun the ordeal would not speak to either the buyer or us, as the file had been forwarded to processing/underwriting. The phone messages on all contact numbers essentially said "The chances of us calling you back with 24 hours are so small as to be incalculable." They demanded all sorts of financial evidence (retirement accounts, IRAs, etc.) that should have been dealt with before we even found a property. They demanded roof repairs two days before we were scheduled to close escrow. They demanded ADEQ water records on the day we were scheduled to close escrow. Such reports normally take 7-10 days to process, although we were able to get them the next business day, due to a helpful contact. It appeared to us, that all these last minute demands were the result of an organization that did not even pick up the file until about the third week of escrow. Such is their contempt for the client, that they would much rather make you do the impossible, than start work on the file in a timely manner, in order to allow you to honor their requests. All the while, not returning calls or communication in any way. They promised to call back, they didn't. They promised loan docs by a certain deadline, three days in a row, and were unable to manage it even once. All without letting the client know. You see, they manage to communicate, the little that they do, through the "customer service" people who answer the telephones. These people cannot help you, they can only relay your messages of frustration via email to the actual person who CAN help you but you are not allowed to speak to on the phone. In all the days of our escrow the client spoke to the actual "loan officer" a total of- wait for it- four times. Meanwhile our clients spoke to the unhelpful drones at "customer service" everyday.
In the meantime, the short sale final approval, which was also handled by another worthless BofA department, was contingent on a HUD 1 being approved that reflected a certain minimum dollar amount. This was duly sent, and ignored. So we had the loan docs signed, were ready to fund, but we still could not close. Bank of America was preventing Bank of America from closing on the house. We knew the name of the individual who needed to approve the HUD 1, take a bow Kim Alexander, but the operator ran interference and could not be persuaded to allow us to speak to her. We were not authorized. The operator would not even explain the procedure or the process or the time frame usually needed to complete the authorization. She preferred to spend 20 minutes arguing about what she would not do, rather than spending 5 minutes on explaining the process. It was like dealing with the government. The listing agent, who WAS authorized to speak to Ms. Alexander, was also denied access. Unbelievably, due to the listing agent's tenacity, someone in the chain of command accidentally gave out the direct number of the short sale deadbeat. OPPS! Ms. Alexander told the lister that "I have had the HUD 1 since 9.30". The lister said, "You mean 9:30 this morning?" "No," she replied, "I mean 9/30 (Sept. 30th)." It was Oct. 5th! Wonderful, but it gets better. She eventually sent the approval to the title company. However, it was encrypted for "security reasons" (I have no idea why as it contained no secure info, like SSNs, for example). The title company was unable to open it, so they contacted Ms. Alexander. Guess what she did? She put them in contact with a techie in India or Pakistan, I am not kidding, who was also unable to open it. Could BofA have been more unhelpful? Why not just scan and email the approval? Too simple, I suppose.
Ultimately, we closed escrow around eight days late, which is not too tragic in the overall scale of things. Remember, though, that we had been in back-up position so I have no idea how long the original buyers had been mistreated before the deal fell in our laps. Maybe they died of old age. I have heard of some short sales taking up to 7 months to complete.
As I said at the outset, this is a story partly about short sales, but mostly about an epic failure in customer care. Not so long ago, when dealing with a buyer, their lender would often make a great effort to impress you in hopes of future business. BofA has made no such effort, and obviously believes it is too big to concern itself with peons like me. That is their right. However, it is probably no coincidence that they just posted a 3rd quarter loss of $2.2 Billion.
Anecdotally, other title officers and Realtors have said that generally banks no longer seem to care. In our area, it seems that BofA have the worst reputation, whilst of the big ones, Wells Fargo maybe has the best.
What do you think? I'd love to know.
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