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Chase Offering Some Benicia, Vallejo Sellers $20k To Do A Short Sale?

March 9th, 2011 categories: Benicia, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Vallejo

$20k

Tales Of Letters Offering Upside-Down Borrowers $20k…But Are They Legit?


Over the past few months, I’ve heard rumors of Chase Bank offering some upside-down borrowers a $20,000 incentive to sell their homes as a short sale.

When I first saw this, I thought it was probably nothing more than an internet scam perpetrated by some unscrupulous bottom-feeders in our industry who were trying to prey on down-on-their-luck homeowners.

There are a few short sale programs (BofA’s Cooperative Short Sale and the Fed’s HAFA program), where the homeowner receives a few thousand dollars as an incentive to participate in a short sale.

But $20,000?! That seemed wildly unlikely.

However, at our local Assn. of Realtors breakfast this morning, I heard the same rumor from a colleague of mine and it sounded like a local Benicia or Vallejo homeowner might have actually received one of these letters.

So I decided to do a little more checking.

And lo and behold, it sounds like this may actually be a legitimate program. From my initial research, it looks like Chase may be offering this incentive program primarily to upside-down borrowers who took out negative amortization (or “pick-a-payment”) loan programs with Washington Mutual (which Chase acquire a year or two ago).

I’ve seen copies of actual letters that Chase has sent to borrowers. The letters come from Chase’s Columbus, OH office and are all signed by a vice president named John Rieger. I called the number on the letter and it appears to be legitimate.

The letter starts off with the following statement, in big, bold letters:

You could sell your home, owe nothing more on your mortgage and get $20,000!

Most of the letters I’ve read about involved Chase borrowers in Arizona and Florida. So this may have started as a pilot program in areas of the country with high levels of housing inventory and a huge number of WaMu/Chase pick-a-payment loans.

Today was actually the first time I’ve heard of these letters possibly appearing locally.  If you (or someone you know of) lives in Benicia, Vallejo or elsewhere in Solano or even Contra Costa County and has received such a letter (and you’re not already under contract with another real estate agent), we’d love to know.

From what I’ve read, it sounds like this may actually be a legitimate program and perhaps the beginning of an effort by Chase to reverse its less-than-stellar short sale performance record.

I Googled John Rieger and didn’t find any postings indicating that this was a farce. So far, from what I’ve seen, it appears to be legit.

We’ve been very active in representing sellers in short sales and would welcome the opportunity to help any upside-down Chase borrowers who have received such a letter determine if this is indeed a viable short sale opportunity for them.

There’s still a little voice in the back of my mind wondering if Chase is really telling the whole story in their letter. Are they going to follow-through as promised or is the $20k offer conditioned on something else that might be unattractive to the owner (such as agreeing to an unsecured note for far more than the $20,000).

Hopefully it’s really a proactive approach by Chase to prevent future foreclosures and cut its losses before they deepen.

If this really is just as Chase’s letter indicates, it would mark a startling turnaround for a lender who until now has been notorious for its usually long, drawn-out short sale process.

Just yesterday, I wrote a post about how Bank of America has gone from one of the worst to one of the best in the short sale arena.

Could Chase be ready to follow BofA’s lead? Let’s hope!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Benicia, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Vallejo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  1. Nathalie said at March 24th, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Note that I’ve received the same letter and in speaking to Chase they are saying that they have thoroughly studied the financials of anyone selected to be in the program and determined that the circumstances are ideal for them to make a short sale happen so:

    -They are agreeing to a 10 day turn around for a response (acceptance or counter) on any bids (offers)
    -They aren’t requiring that the home owner write a hardship letter or provide any financial statements
    -They offer different amounts per person/situation (my letter had a different number than the one you show here)

    I have an attorney working with me, they are willing to talk to her and also to have a 3 way call with the realtor to explain the details, since I’m guessing they run into a lot of skeptical people.

    I will believe it when I see it all happen, but for now, I agree, sounds legit.

  2. Rod Herman said at March 25th, 2011 at 12:18 pm

    Thank you for the update, Nathalie. Is this on a local (Benicia/Vallejo or Solano County) property? If not, what part of the state or country are you in?

  3. martha said at May 4th, 2011 at 5:13 am

    I am in this process right now with Chase Bank. I have a offer on my home which I abandoned last Sept.
    And they Chase have been hounding me to do a short sale and offering me at closing a 20,000 dollar check.
    And that I will have a defiancy letter stating that I will not owe any moneys to Chase after the short sale.
    And no so far I have not been told to write a hardship letter, my realtor ask me to just in case they ask for it. So were waiting to see what happens. They also stated that they will let us know withing the 10 day period if they except the offer or not. Its interesting to see if it pans out.
    They stated they are doing this is states such as Michigan ( this is where I live) and Florida since the foreclosure rates were so high in these two states.
    My short sale offer should be turned in this week and I am going to mark the calendar to see how long this process is going to take…

  4. Dan` said at May 10th, 2011 at 8:58 am

    I received one of these letters yesterday for $30,000, and was wondering if anyone was successful with this program. Thanks, Dan in San Rafael

  5. Rod Herman said at May 14th, 2011 at 8:01 am

    From what I’d heard, most of these Chase offers were launched in Arizona and Florida — areas with a huge number of distressed properties. It looks like they’re now appearing in Michigan and indeed here in the Bay Area.

    Dan — if you need assistance and don’t already have an agent, feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to help. San Rafael is a little outside my normal market area, but it is part of my MLS system and I’d be happy to help if you want to pursue this and haven’t yet connected with an agent experienced in negotiating short sales.

  6. Dan` said at May 16th, 2011 at 11:23 am

    Thanks Rod, I have a Codwell agent here in Marin, but I am extremely interested in understanding if Martha got her check from Chase?

  7. martha said at May 20th, 2011 at 5:10 am

    Im still waiting for them to ok the offer on my property. They told us 10 days well its only been 7, by the time all the paperwork they sent me to fill out. which they also said i wouldnt haven’t to fill out. Our finanical history and a cry letter stating why I want to sell my home on a short sale. Were hoping to hear by next week sometime. The realtor told me she would let me know what they say and if we get a closing date. then we will see if the check is in the Hud forms like they say. And the deficiancy letter stating we will no longer owe the left over moneys on the property. Which they said will all be there at closing if they agree to the price. Which my mortgage was 200,000 and the offer in our area now is only 65,000. Our area is very distressed here in michigan. 50 homes in our little town alone are in foreclosure or people have abandoned them. My 300,000 dollar home which we built 8 yrs ago now is only worth 60 to 90 thousand dollars. Its sad to see all the distressed homes and people. Hopefully all of this comes through and don’t bite me in the butt in the end.

  8. Rod Herman said at May 20th, 2011 at 6:07 am

    Thanks for the update and for sharing, Martha. I hope you’ll everything really does go through just as Chase promised.

    Here in our part of the SF Bay Area, values have dropped substantially from their peak in 2006 — in some communities by as much as 50%. Sounds like you’re area has seen as much as a 75%-80% price drop. Yikes!

    Best of luck to you. Please post a follow-up to let us know if Chase delivered on their offer. For your sake, I really hope they fulfill their promise.

  9. martha said at May 28th, 2011 at 3:45 am

    So far we hear nothing now from Chase..the man the realtor has been working with ..well kinda disappeared from the phone directory at Chase. Now some woman answers to the extention number. so hopefully we can get this taken care of. the people who put the offer in are getting anxious and so is there bank. And my 10 day turnover is here and gone. Still waiting to hear something by next week.

  10. Rod Herman said at May 28th, 2011 at 7:41 am

    Thanks for sharing, Martha. Hopefully it’s just a matter of them switching negotiators and that this doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare for you. Please keep us posted. And best of luck…I hope Chase delivers as promised.

  11. Nar Sorinio said at June 13th, 2011 at 9:51 am

    That is very true, I have HUD 1 to prove it when i short sale my home last March. It is a lottery and not everyone may qualify.

  12. martha said at June 16th, 2011 at 1:54 am

    Still waiting for a response from Chase, so far there 10 day turn around has gone into a longer time span here. So were still waiting, realtor is getting a little discouraged and so am I ..but we will hang in there .

  13. Rod Herman said at June 18th, 2011 at 6:41 am

    I heard recently of several Chase offers in our area that closed escrow. In one, the borrower indeed got their $20k-$30k cash. The other sale didn’t, for apparently you have to request the cash offer from Chase by a certain deadline and if you don’t, you still get the short sale approval, but you lose the cash incentive.

  14. martha said at July 13th, 2011 at 3:51 am

    OMG, what a nightmare this is turning out to be…ready to bail and so is my realtor…

  15. martha said at July 15th, 2011 at 12:48 pm

    Well, its done..my realtor bailed …the bank after sending final papers to sign for closing, the bank called 10 minutes later and said they need more money for the house. and the 20,000 they promised me, well they said it was no longer in effect … they didn’t tell us this until she was getting the HUD paperwork done and when the bank called her thats when they told her that. Just the HAFA 3,000 was the only money that we would get..well its to late the realtor worked above and beyond on this and then at the last they do this..well let it go into foreclosure, there are no other realtors in this area that will do short sales…due to the run around and time they put into it.

  16. Rod Herman said at July 23rd, 2011 at 6:28 am

    This is very disappointing, Martha. It sounds like you REALLY got the run-around from Chase. I’ve heard of several successful short sales where Chase fulfilled their promise and came through with the $20k or $30k they offered. But your results certainly tell a far different story. Sorry you had to endure such a long and fruitless process :( .

  17. martha said at August 23rd, 2011 at 6:19 am

    Well I am going to try it again…my realtor has a company she hired to do just short sales..were going to do it..the house needs to sell and be lived in..its going down hill sitting for a yr now..people are stealing things and it has to have some one in it…so one more try. Don’t know about the 20,000 anymore but worth a try…can’t loose anything..they still haven’t foreclosed on it..can’t give it to them. wish us luck..were going to need it…

  18. Rod Herman said at August 23rd, 2011 at 8:38 am

    Good luck on your second try, Martha. However, I personally don’t advocate using a 3rd-party negotiator. I’ve always negotiated short sales for my own clients myself and have never felt that I needed outside assistance.

    I’ve been involved in SS’s where I’ve represented a buyer and the seller’s agent has used a 3rd party short sale negotiator and they often just get in the way. Plus, many banks won’t pay the 3rd party negotiator’s fee, which can cause drama at the end, when there’s not enough money to pay the agent and the 3rd party negotiator.

    Some banks (BofA, in particular) have flat out said they’d much rather work directly with the seller’s agent than with a 3rd party negotiator. A real estate agent with experience negotiating short sales should be able to do everything a 3rd party SS negotiator can do…and then some!

  19. martha said at August 31st, 2011 at 3:14 am

    Thanks for the info…I was also asked to do a deed in Lieu of foreclosure..if I changed my mind on a short sale..thinking seriously on that I want all this over..Its been over a Year since I have lived in the home and it still sits..

  20. Rod Herman said at August 31st, 2011 at 7:58 am

    If you opt for a deed-in-lieu, be sure to consider whether you might be giving up any rights you’d otherwise have under your state or federal tax, foreclosure or short sale laws. I’d contact a good attorney in your area before agreeing to a deed-in-lieu and make sure you’re not going to face any any negative consequences after the fact. Good luck!

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