How to get a Chase short sale approved?

 
For years, JP Morgan Chase or Chase Bank (acquired WAMU) has had a reputation in the industry for being one of the slowest banks to approve short sales.  On the phone, Chase will tell you 6 to 8 weeks to accept a short sale, but in practice, the process will take 6 months minimum, and in some cases 3 years, if buyers keep walking due to slowness.
 
To ensure expediency with Chase, it is best to follow these rules when submitting a short sale package:

  1. Keep a written log of everything – dates, people’s names at Chase, actions.  Advise your seller to do the same.
  2. Send in the authorization to release information and call within 3 business days to make sure its logged in the system.  Introduce yourself and confirm that Chase received the authorization.  Inform them that a short sale package will be forthcoming.  This will prompt them to schedule a BPO agent to come to go by the property to do an appraisal.
  3. Submit a complete package.  Follow Chase’s checklist exactly.  Do not bother submitting the package if any documents are missing or omitted.
  4. Authorization to release information for your REALTOR to communicate with the lender – use Chase’s form
  5. Financial worksheet – use Chase’s form
  6. Hardship Letter
  7. Last two years tax returns
  8. Two months bank statements
  9. Last 30 days proof of pay stubs or self employed (bank statements and profit and loss, if self-employed)
  10. Listing History from the MLS
  11. Listing agreement
  12. Purchase contract and pre approval letter from a buyer or proof of funds
  13. Comparative sales – active, pending, sold properties from past 3 months
  14. Keep a copy of the faxed date and time stamp.
  15. Follow up with Chase in 3 days after sending the documents to make sure they logged the short sale package in the system.  Ask the timeframe for when the short sale package will get assigned to a negotiator.  This will usually occur in 30 days or less.
  16. Send any additional documentation Chase asks for and follow up by phone each time to make sure they actually received and logged the information into their system.
  17. Keep your buyer in the loop at each step of the transaction and ask if they are still on board for closing on the house. 
  18. If your short sale buyer is no longer on board for closing on the house, select a buyer from your back up list.  Or call back agents who were “hot” on the property and request that they submit a contract right away.
  19. Have an excellent follow up system.  Once the case gets assigned to a short sale negotiator, follow up once per week to ask if they need anything or how far along are they to get your short sale approved.  Hold them accountable and use your log of conversations and actions to prove to Chase that they are letting your deal slip through the cracks and someone needs to be responsible.
  20. Don’t give up.  Just because Chase is slow doesn’t mean you’re deal won’t get approved.  It will get approved.  It may be that you didn’t find the right decision maker at Chase to champion your short sale through to closing.
 
When dealing with Chase, you are dealing with a massive bureaucracy of people, departments, and call centers in different parts of the country.  This makes it hard to ever communicate with just one person and hold that person accountable for the short sale package.  Also, all initial communications must be sent by fax or mail. 
 
Chase does not handle anything via email until your case gets assigned to a short sale negotiator.  Your loss litigator contact at Chase will provide his email, so that you can better communicate and get documents to him.  He may also email you counter offers that you must send to the buyer, should Chase want more money than the contract price.
 
If the people you are talking to are giving you the run around, don’t hesitate to escalate the short sale package as high as you can take it to get someone to “really look at it” and make a decision.  You want to get this person’s private extension and email and request to deal with them from now on to drive the short sale to closing.
 
CHASE Short Sale information: www.chase.com/shortsale
 
If you have any further questions about short sales, please contact us.