BofA rolls out plan to curtail short-sale approvals

Bank of America announced it is refining its short-sale process to streamline its approval process and reduce the wait in accepting offers and making it to closing. The changes are expected to trim the bank’s decision time in half – from 45 days or longer to 20 days.

Starting April 14, the bank says it will permit its short-sale specialists, using a third-party platform called Equator, to complete document collection, valuations, and underwriting at the same time, which is expected to help speed the process. Bank of America also announced starting April 14 that real estate agents will be required to submit five documents in short sale transactions to be considered by the lender.

These required documents include:

• A purchase contract including Buyer’s Acknowledgment and Disclosure form
• HUD-1
• IRS Form 4506-T
• Bank of America Short Sale Addendum
• Bank of America Third-Party Authorization Form