So, here we go again. Real Estate agent gets a deal done on a home, and unfortunately, the seller did not realize she owed $15,000 more on the loan than she did. As a result, the deal cannot go through unless Wells Fargo approves a short sale. The short sale process can take forever, and the buyers won’t wait.
Since I know the agent, I offered to help a little. I found Wells Fargo’s General Counsel’s e-mail (James Strother – james.strother@wellsfargo.com), and I sent him an e-mail regarding the matter and asked if there is any way to escalate the process. He immediately had Ms. Gwen Oberg contact me, and I put her in touch with the agent.
Seemingly, Wells Fargo was interested in getting this deal done. Why? If not, the seller would either have to file bankruptcy or just let the house go into foreclosure. She was selling because she is divorced and having financial difficulties. If that were to happen, Wells Fargo would have to pay thousands in attorney fees, maintenance on the house, real estate commissions, and probably get less money for the home given that it would be known it was in foreclosure. It could mean anywhere from $50,000-$100,000 loss for Wells Fargo AND the investors.
However, Ms. Oberg and her associate, Jeremy Turner, continued to say that they had to have the “Investors” approval of the short sale. Today, the real estate agent gets an e-mail that the investor turned down the short sale since the house was not on the market for 5 days including a weekend (it sold in 4 days). The investor is Freddie Mac.
So, the question is: why would Freddie Mac and/or Wells Fargo prefer to lose $50,000-$100,000 rather than $15,000 and, in addition, force a woman to either file bankruptcy or go into foreclosure? I can’t answer this question, and really, I don’t think anyone could devise a logical answer.
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