The phrase "short sales" was probably the most popular usage at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual Servicing convention in San Diego. No, make that definitely. Everyone was talking about short sales and how they can help tame the massive foreclosure and/or modifications mess, helping out the borrower, lender and vendor in the process.
I learned that a short sale is called a "dirty sale" in the business, and that must mean "down and dirty" as in quick and convenient. I suspect short sales are neither quick nor convenient, except possibly in comparison to a loan modification or a foreclosure/REO sale.
The people at Stewart Lender Services, Houston, (a unit of the big title insurer) wanted to talk about short sales as part of a rollout they did at the show for both short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure programs. They are offering this as an outsourcing option to servicers to help them implement HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, according to SLS president Jason Nadeau. The deed in lieu would come into play if the short sale failed.
Joe Filoseta, president and CEO of DepotPoint, based in Bellevue, WA, also had a short sale solution in his portfolio. Joe's company is teaming up with AssetPlanUSA of Long Beach, CA to do short sales more efficiently. DepotPoint's TrackPoint Platform will help enable AssetPlan USA to get short sales done.
National Quick Sale, Jacksonville, FL, also had a short sale alliance to announce at the show. It is partnering with Epic Real Estate Solutions, Pittsburgh, to reduce the time it takes to complete short sales, from many weeks down to just days. National Quick Sale also is partnering with REA Accelerated Marketing Group to broaden the exposure of short sale listings.
Short sales was also in the arsenal of UTLS, a default services company based in Orange County, CA. Its Back in Black solution automates default servicing, and it says it has the first end to end short sale solution, among other capabilities in the default arena.
Not everyone I talked to had short sales on the tip of their tongue. REO Sentinel, an allied company to National Quick Sale, has an interesting system to protect vacant REO. Basically it is a motion detector that guards against intruders but also monitors gas leaks, moisture levels and the like.
Forte Group, Birmingham, MI also had an interesting idea. It has an SaaS (Software as a Service) solution that allows distressed borrowers to assemble and submit their own workout solutions online. It's called Gateway Loan Review and helps automate the lender's workout efforts.
But as I said, short sales was the buzz phrase of the conference. I'll think I'll keep this short and sweet and end here!
