Short Sale Software Platform
Perhaps you have heard of Equator, a short sale software platform used primarily by Bank of America. Recently, the real estate network has been abuzz with all sorts of real estate blogs about Equator.
If you are not working short sales but have worked foreclosures before, you may have heard of REO Trans. REO Trans was the software platform used by many asset management companies to service REO listings. You see, asset managers and REO listing agents were able to use REO Trans to communicate and process massive amounts of REOs very efficiently via the Internet and the Internet-based software platform.
Well, as the market began to change, REO Trans morphed their software platform into Equator, and you do not even need to travel to Ecuador, Brazil or Colombia to see it! Currently Equator is used by Bank of America for all Bank of America short sale transactions. It is also used by GMAC, but in a slightly different manner.
If you obtain a short sale listing and plan to negotiate the short sale yourself, than the first thing you want to do is find out who the lien holders are for the property. If any of the lien holders are Bank of America, than you will want to visit the Equator website. At the website, you will need to create an account. Once you have created your account, you can login and use the dashboard to initiate a short sale. What is great about the Equator system is that you receive emails and assigned tasks with deadlines for completion. For novice short sale listing agents, Equator can “hold your hand” as you negotiate the short sale.
Personally, I have read plenty of blog posts written by folks who were complaining about the former Bank of America short sale negotiation process. It was tedious, time consuming, and required significant expertise to navigate the bumps in the road to lien holder approval. I’ve also personally experienced telephone hold times in excess of one hour just to check status on a short sale file. The great news is that most transactions that go through the Equator process can be completed without a single phone call to the bank!
Personally, I love the Equator platform. Short sale approvals come much more quickly; in fact, one of my colleagues got an approval in just 24 days! So, if you have been a bit nervous about venturing into the short sale market because you have heard a few horror stories, you may want to reconsider. Things are getting better with the mighty Equator system.
(Sidebar: GMAC also uses the Equator platform. Currently, they are using it a bit differently. At GMAC, the negotiators initiate the short sale and then it appears in your Equator account. Whatever the case, the Equator system is definitely a plus when working short sales!)
