Help! Does the 2nd lienholder ever say NO?

Question

I'm the listing agent on a short sale. HSBC is the first and approved the short sale in 10 days back in January. Now it's mid-April and Countrywide is still stuck in their quagmire. Supposedly, Countrywide has gotten all the information the need now (BPO is in and o.k.; HUD1, $3000 from HSBC; etc.) and the file has been sent for management review for 7-10 days. My past experience with this process is that 7-10 days just moves the file to the next level of no action but being an optimist I'm wondering if I may get an answer. Does the second lienholder ever say no?

HSBC calls me every week to check on the progress of Countrywide. They are tired of waiting for Countrywide and they are going to file an NOD.

Danny R. · Answer

First off, I understand your frustration.  It is mind boggling that most lenders don’t understand the urgency of an offer timeline or the approval conditions of the other lien holder.  As the owner of The Equity Resource Group LLC based in Massachusetts, a company which solely assists homeowners facing hardships with their mortgage issues I honestly see this too often.  I have and do work with Countrywide on a daily bases, based on our experience with countrywide they will approve the sale and discharge the second however they typically will only discharge the lien for 10% of the total on their loan amount.  Good Luck and keep plugging away.

Account Closed · Answer

Frequantly the second lien holder will discharge the mortgage in exchange for some form of compensation, however they will not release the liability. Make sure you review their acceptance. Depending on the loss write off, Country wide does not consider your request an urgent matter. At this point they are like an unsecured debtor and will most likely sell that debt of for pennies on the dollar to some national collection agency. The last time I checked 40% loss on a second lien was rushed to the top, a greater loss then that is not treated with any urgency. Good luck