Fairfax VA – We recently chatted with someone who completed a Fairfax VA loan modification with HSBC. I was amazed at how easy the process was for them. They didn’t have to wait 60 days for a person to be assigned to their case. They didn’t have to spend hours filling out paperwork. The fax machine actually worked. All in all – the process went smoothly for them.
I’ve always heard good things about HSBC when it comes to short sales and loan modifications. Now let’s compare that experience with one that an individual might have at a large American Bank, such as Bank of America or JP Morgan Chase.
Often, Fairfax VA real estate agents will tell me about how awful it is working on a Fairfax short sale with Bank of America. Sometimes, they say, they can’t even get a reasonable answer on the short sale after 8 months, and sometimes longer!
Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have especially bad reputations. Forget about getting an answer to your email in less than 2 weeks. These people are just overworked and disenchanted. I believe that the reason these companies don’t care is because they don’t own the loans. For instance, Bank of America only owns about 20% of their loans.
And of that 20 percent they own, most of it is guaranteed by the government because of their purchase of Country wide. In contrast, HSBC owns most, if not all, of their loans. Thus, if they mess up, they are the one’s who pay the consequences, literally.
I couldn’t find any record of HSBC ever receivinga bailout on the bailout search page. All of their loan mods, short sales, and foreclosures seem to be handled properly. HSBC is a well run bank. Here is why.
They incur all of the responsibility because they are acting as the principal. Thus, if they mess up, they lose the money. On 80% (or more) of Bank of America’s loans, someone else is losing the money. That is why nothing ever gets done on a Bank of America file.
As we all know, people tend to do a better job if their own money is on the line. The big banks are handling other people’s money so there is no accountability on their end.
But at HSBC, if the short sale department does a lousy job, there is a visible consequence on the bank’s quarterly statement. People are held accountable for things going badly at HSBC. That doesn’t seem to be the case at American Banks such as Bank of America or JP Morgan Chase in my opinion.
It’s unfortunate that a foreign company does such a better job on these types of things than an American Company. Are you an investor who own a mortgage, or do you work at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, or some other place that owns or insures mortgages? I recommend implementing these standards on the lender who is handling your loans.
Loan Mod Minimum Standard: Give the homeowner a written, coherent answer on their loan mod within 30 days. Approve all loan mods that are projected to bring in more money than a foreclosure or short sale would
Short Sale Minimum Standard: The buyer gets a written, solid, coherent answer within 30 days after they make an offer. If the buyer doesn’t want to pay that price, then the house is listed at that price. Drop the asking price by 5% each month until the home sells. Any future buyers get an answer on their offer within 3 business days.
Thanks for reading this,
Thierry is a Real Estate Agent at RE/MAX Premier, and Host of Talk Radio’s, ‘Inside Real Estate’
Phone: (703) 322-0600.
Thierry is an advocate for Homeowners in Distress. Thierry has made it his personal mission to help as many people as possible avoid foreclosure and keep their home.
Thierry Roche specializes in loan modifications and short sales in Fairfax Virginia. Fairfax Loan Modification Help. Fairfax Short Sales. Fairfax Short Sale Realtor. Fairfax County Short Sale Realtor. Fairfax VA Short Sales. Fairfax Realtor.
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