SunTrust Bank Is So Smart

There is an asset manager at SunTrust Bank that should be fired immediately. This bank took billions of taxpayer dollars in bailout funds while one of their asset managers is costing them untold amounts of money by practicing some of the most idiotic practices I have ever heard of. Let me explain what brings me to this conclusion…

On June 1, 2009 I assisted a client by preparing an offer on a foreclosed property located at 2002 Alderbrooke Ct. in Lawrenceville. The property was on the market for $184,900.00 and we offered $170,000.00 and asked for seller contributions of $5,100.00 toward closing costs and the buyer was to put 20% down. The counteroffer we received was to raise the purchase price to $184,900.00 (List Price) and removed all of our stipulations for a home warranty, repairing wood rot, repairing an obvious water leak and disallowing a prequalification from a qualified lender (Per the listing agents office, this asset manager requires that for any closing costs to be contributed by the seller the buyer must use SunTrust Bank as their lender for the mortgage). As this saga continues and through further negotiations my client has raised his offer to $180,000.00 with seller contributions to closing costs to be $4080.00 which was countered at $180,000.00 with no closing cost contribution. We countered with $182,000.00 with $4,000.00 in closing costs, splitting the difference so to speak. The reply and subsequent counteroffer from the asset manager blew our mind. The counter offer was at $182,000.00 with no closing cost contributing. At this point my client just threw up his hands in disbelief and fortunately went to Florida to attend to his father who was a bit under the weather.

Let’s jump ahead into July. My client is back from Florida and low and behold the property at 2002 Alderbrooke Court has been through a price reduction and is now listed at $164,900.00. My client has conversation with a loan officer at SunTrust REO Division and is promptly preapproved as before. We make an offer at $164,900.00 with $5,000.00 seller contribution towards closing costs and guess what happens? You guessed it; the offer was accepted as written on July 14, 2009.

Had this asset manager accepted our offer at $182,000.00 with $4,000.00 closing cost contribution the bank would have been $18,100.00 better off and the transaction would have closed a month earlier also saving the bank a month’s expenses of managing the property. I am tickled for my client and feel as though he got a fantastic deal on a foreclosure home, but I have to ask myself do the actions of this asset manager really make sense for the bank? I hate seeing my taxes wasted bailing out a bank that is employing idiots that can’t see the forest for the trees.