My Cash for keys story

[trappedincali]

Well, the cash for keys thing was a BIG pain. I would not have been as fortunate on the payment, had I not taken matters into my own hands. Lets see if I can explain this easier with a timeline:

Oct 1st: House sold at auction to Fannie Mae (orig holder of my first)

Oct 5th: Notice posted on my front door offering 'Relocation assistance'. It states that I need to contact the agent written on the form within three days to proceed. I leave a voicemail immediately stating my interest.

Oct 8th: No return call from agent so I call the second number which is Fannie Mae's. They give me the Asset management firms number (located in PA). I leave a message with them expressing interest in 'cash for keys' (the term fannie mae used on the phone in lieu of 'relocation assistance')

Oct 12th: The asset mgt firm calls me back, apologizing for the delay, and expresses interest in 'wrapping this up' and gives me the number of the local agent handling the property. I call THEM and leave a message.

Oct 14th: No return calls so I contact asset mgt again and express my frustration at the lack of response from the local RA. They make some phone calls and promise a response.

Oct 15th: Local RA finally calls and offers me three dates and numbers:
Out by Oct 21st = $4000
Out by Nov 5th = $3200
Out by Nov 15th - $2500

He states that it usually takes 7-10 days for approval of any offer, which automatically awakens the math genius in my head. I respond "But, if I agree to be out by the 21st, that's only 6 days away, you can't secure payment by then."

He responds that due to the fact that we are getting a late start, the most realistic option would be #3. I respond stating that it was not MY fault we were getting off to a late start and reluctantly agree to trying for option #2. He states that he needs to come by to give me paperwork to sign and I offer to come home from work the next day at noon to meet him. He says that he will call one of his field agents and confirm that he can meet me at noon and will call me 'right back'.

Oct 16th: No return call and he is once again not answering his phone. I call the asset mgt agency again to complain about the local agent and, once again, one phone call from them prompts the local agent to call me right back. He agrees to meet me at noon personally since his agent called in sick today (boohoo). Noon rolls around and I'm sitting in my truck in the driveway eating lunch.
He rolls up and reaffirms that option 1 ($4000 - Out by Oct 21) is not achievable. This still burns me, but I agree to go for option #2. He then states that he needs to come in and photograph the house first. Well, since I don't have my house keys with me, he can't enter and I can't sign, so he asks if we can meet tomorrow at 5:00pm when he can gain entry to the house. I agree.

Not more than an hour after he leaves, Fannie Mae calls me to follow up on my initial complaint about lack of response from the listing agent and I explain the whole story to them expressing my dismay over the fact that I lost out on option #1 due to lack of response on their part. They put me on hold and eventually return with good news. They state that they will approve a $4000 C4K if we are out by the 30th of October. All I have to do is have the asset mgt agency submit it for approval. I immediately call BOTH the asset mgt agency and the local agent informing them of this new information. I leave a message with the asset mgt, but speak to the local RA about it and he agrees to still me up with me at 5 the next day.

Sat, Oct 17th: 5pm, I send the family off, lock up the dogs, and make the place receptive to the RA to photograph. 5pm turns into 6:15 eventually and I decide to go get some dinner since I am once again disappointed. I leave messages with both related parties expressing my dismay and don't hear anything for the rest of the weekend.

Mon, Oct 19th: First thing in the morning, the asset mgt agent calls me back and I explain my frustration once again with the local RA. He states that he did get the new offer approved and believes that the local RA didn't show because the new offer had not been approved yet. A phone call would have been nice, but it's not been par for the course so far. I state that I can meet them that day at noon to photograph and sign the paperwork, but as usually the local RA is not answering his calls or returning mine. Once again, with once brief call, they get the local RA to call me back. This time it's a different agent from the same agency. He meets me at noon and photographs the place. His only concern is the fact that I state that in the paperwork it mentions that I will not take the appliances. I state that I am taking my fridge since I paid for it and the house didn't originally come with one. He backs down and I sign the paperwork.

Oct 29th: One day before the scheduled transfer, I call the RA to find out when we are to meet up. I mention that I would prefer a morning meeting to get this done and over with and get on with my weekend. He states that we will have to meet up twice. The first meeting would be at 10:00am so he can inspect the property. He then has to go back and contact the bank and inform them of the condition so they can do a final approval. He would then meet me back at 2:00pm to exchange the cash for keys. Whatever.

Oct 30th: 10:00 am, the RA arrives and takes a brief look around ensuring no trash was left behind and checks a cabinet and closet at random. He phones his boss and expresses his satisfaction and informs him that he's submitting payment. He has me sign the paperwork and a W-9 before giving me the check. the 2:00pm meeting never takes place since he was satisfied with the house. I suppose if there was damage or missing appliances, they adjust your payment.

The next day, my old neighbor calls me (since she was watching the house as we were not living there the past few weeks) and mentions that they were already showing it. Guess they wasted no time.


So, that's it. Once I get past the issues of settling with the second and any tax issues, this will ALL be behind me. Good riddance!!!

-Lee

[ftm2hannah]

Thank you for posting this! I'm anticipating this part of the process but am sure hoping I don't have all the hassle you endured...

[azpoor]

trappedincali - What date did you actually move all of your things out of the house? Before the auction? After the auction? My auction date is 12/11 and the info is appreciated.

[trappedincali]

We had actually secured a new rental on the 1st (the same day of the auction) and had a lot of our stuff in a storage unit already, but the new house wasn't ready on the first and got pushed back to the 9th of Oct.

We moved most of our stuff out on the 9th and began 'living' at the new rental then. We still had quite a bit of stuff at the old house and slowly moved it out or threw it on the side for a dump run on the last day. I'm actually glad we still had a bit of stuff there since the house still looked lived in when they came to do the initial photography. The house was completely empty, broom swept, and vacuumed when they came to inspect it on the final day.

Also, eviction proceedings had begun during this process. We received a legal notice on our door late October regarding this. I called the law firm on the notice to let them know of my agreement with Fannie Mae to be out by Oct 30th. They stated that it was routine to begin the proceedings in the event that we did not honor the C4K date, and that the eviction would not be completed that fast. They noted it in their computer and that was that.

-Lee

[ultimate4799]

thanks for sharing this, trappedincali.. I'm almost(my auction got moved to early Dec) and will keep you guys posted..

[TexasP]

Thanks for sharing Trapped! My auction is in Jan and my mortgage holder is FreddieMac (serviced by GMAC) so I will post my experience for all as well. Being in Texas I've been told that the eviction process happens 24-48 hours after the auction sale. Doesnt leave much time for negotiating a C4K agreement.