2 Comments

1. 

   Mike on April at 10:34 am

   Hi Kris and Kim,

   My company, based in Southern California, was in contract on a BAC Home Loans (fka Countrywide) short sale home. This was an all cash offer. Our buyer’s agent informed us that the listing agent needed the first 5 digits of a social security number and a birth date for entry into the Bank of America short sale system and/or Equator system. Our company does not need a loan, nor does it want to give out personal identity information regarding any of its principals. Our buyer’s agent again asked for my social security number and birth date or the listing agent would cancel the sale, which he effectively did, by placing the property back on the market in active status.

   I have gotten back no response yet from Equator.com at 6060 Center Drive, Los Angeles regarding this issue. Equator.com’s privacy policies for consumers do not mention that such information is required to complete transactions.

   I have some questions:
   1. Is it the Bank of America short sale system that requires the first 5 digits of a tax identification number and birth date, or is it the Equator.com system?
   2. Can the first 5 digits of a legal entity taxpayer identification number and organization date be used in place of a social security number and birth date? Or would the system reject this input thinking the organization was not yet of legal age if it was formed less than 18 years ago?

   Please let me know. We have since terminated our relationship with that particular agent, which happens to be in the Las Vegas area. She simply indicated that she was also registered with equator.com, had done short sales with B of A before, and agreed that the listing agent could cancel the sale in spite of my protests that we had a binding contract. This would have been a good long-term deal especially given that the home is 4 years old and the same builder is selling new comparably-sized homes in the tract starting at $80,000 higher.

   It would also seem that giving someone identity information over the phone or email, could easily lead to identity theft.

   So one more question I had was whether the borrower could enter information securely into the B of A or Equator system without involving an agent or any of their non-licensed staff?

   Any information you can provide would be helpful. We are also interested in investing in the Riverside area.

   Reply
2. 

   Susan on November at 4:36 pm

   Glad to hear that they are making progress…. We can hope for the best in 2010 and that short sales can be closed with less headaches.

   Reply