Send in your stuff and wait
And wait, and wait some more.
To start, here’s a few packet submission hints:
- Try your best to send absolutely everything in at one time. You have a much bigger chance of something going astray if you do this process piecemeal. Don’t give the lender any opportunity to reject you because something is missing.
- Put your loan number on everything. Many lenders require this, but I suggest you go ahead even if they don’t. Again, you want this to go as smoothly as possible; both for yourself, and the mortgage company. This way if something gets dropped on the floor or set aside, it can easily be traced back to your packet.
- Keep copies of your entire packet. There’s a good chance something will get lost and you don’t want to have to take the time to recreate anything.
- Don’t send originals! You may need them for something else later. None of the materials you send off are going to be returned to you.
Once you have submitted your packet, your next step is to bide your time until an answer comes. Barring some sort of last-minute force-through, your short sale will not be approved quickly. It’s nerve-wracking, but don’t panic if you haven’t heard anything in the first few weeks. Millions of homes are in foreclosure and pre-foreclosure right now. That’s a lot for the mortgage companies to wade through, and in certain respects, you really are just another number.
Some mortgage companies have very strict rules on communicating at this point. Your realtor will have read the materials (right, guys?) and will know if the company expects you to wait a full month before contacting anyone. This is mainly because your packet has to be received, sorted, and input before anyone with authority even looks at the information with an analytical eye. If you call too early, you are only going to be frustrated by talking to the poor person who sits in front of a computer all day, trying to calm down panicked homeowners by means of a badly-written script.
If you are lucky, you will have a company that employs someone to confirm that all your materials have arrived. Companies that ask you to fax your documents are often the ones with this service. (And thank heaven for that; faxing is not my favorite way of sending anything important. Too often not all the pages go through or you can’t read half of them, or someone forgets and chucks them in the garbage. I’ll fax then snail-mail the documents just to be sure.) Wait about a week and a half before calling to check up on your documents. Then, if anything is missing, you can get those things in as quickly as possible.
Your realtor will have taken point on negotiations with the lender, so let her/him do it, don’t muddle things by calling constantly without them knowing. Be sure to keep them in the loop. If you have questions, ask your realtor first, then go to the mortgage company if you need more information or you’re advised to do so. Whatever you do, try not to let this part of the process weigh on you. At this point there is nothing you can do, so you should try to relax.
The takeaway advice:
- Sellers, If you’ve put together your packet properly, you should have no reason to panic. I can’t say you’ll be able to kick back and enjoy the wait period, but it isn’t a time for excessive worry. You’ve done your best and now it’s up to others.
- Realtors, be patient with edgy clients. You’ve guided them this far, but they still have an unresolved problem on their minds. Please be sure to check the lender’s rules on communications, but don’t let too much time pass before you check in. Be sure that you keep your client in the loop, too. Establish a communications pattern with your client. Let them know you will call once a week on a certain day, and they won’t be as inclined to hound you for information you don’t have.
With any luck, the end of your wait period will come with a confirmed contract for sale. Good luck!
Next week: What to do when the sale fails.
