Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Q: WHO pays for HOA Fees on short sales?

The bank/lender will have to include on the transaction. I have had lenders pay 3 years of back HOA fees and back taxes. They do pay HOA . It is my understanding this becomes a lien on the property at some point and will get paid even before taxes at times. If the property goes to foreclosure the HOA companies will then sometimes go after homeowners.

My understanding with short sales is that you don’t get anywhere at all with the process until you have an offer i.e., no assignment of a negotiator or even review of the file until then. If that’s true, then how are some agents getting negotiators assigned and/or asking price agreements made with the banks before they have the home even sold? I understand this could be if they’ve already lost out on a prior offer, but in some cases these are listings that are fairly new and have not received offers yet. Are these listing agents just misleading me so I will show the property and communicate to my buyers that the short sale is further along than it actually is?

Debt collection companies are out for the money. They will typically say and threaten with everything they can. The bottom line is that they want to get some money...as little as it may seem, it’s still something for them.

I agree with your lawyer. There is no legal way for the lender to go after the husband if he is not on the note. The way to play this, in my opinion, is to hit them with the same tactic. You will need the cooperation of the homeowners on this. The debt collector will need to feel that they can get stuck with little if they don’t cooperate with the negotiations. If they sense fear they will pounce. Tell them about the reality of having no other options but bankruptcy and they will stand to get nothing. Clients have to act as if they are not affected by the calls and the outrageous comments by the debt collector.

I’ve done many short sales where the people were current. You may have to be prepared to explain the hardship over and over again though. Be prepared to show credit card bills or savings account info if you have to appeal a denial. I had Wells deny a short sale because they were current, but I appealed, the deal was reinstated and we successfully closed. So you just have to fight for it. But it is no policy across the board that I know of. Be up front with the lender.