KW Default Solutions
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This guide is for agents whose seller is behind on payments. Often that means a possible short sale. A short sale is a sale for less than what's owed on the loan. It needs the lender's approval.
We're KW Default Solutions (KWDS). We help Keller Williams agents get and handle default work, like short sales and bank-owned homes. We also train agents to do it.
What you'll be able to do: check three things before any call with the servicer. You're named, the authorization is accepted and your request fits what it covers.
01Why the servicer may not talk to you yet
Say you call the servicer about a homeowner's loan. The representative says they can't discuss the account with you yet. The homeowner says, "But I hired you to sell the house."
The listing agreement and the authorization do different jobs. The listing agreement covers your work for the homeowner as their agent. The authorization covers what the servicer will discuss with you.
So before your next call, find out what authorization the servicer requires and what it lets you do.
02What a third-party authorization covers
It lets a named person or company talk with the servicer and get loan details. It only covers what's written on it. Each servicer may have its own form, steps and identity checks.
Check: before you rely on an authorization, confirm:
- Who has to sign it
- Who can be named on it
- Where it has to be sent
- Whether the servicer has accepted it
Use the servicer's current instructions. Don't reuse an old form just because it worked on another file. A signed form sitting in your folder doesn't mean the servicer will talk to you yet.
Share only the information that's needed, through the secure route the servicer approves. Keep private details like the loan number or the borrower's signature out of signup forms and open shared folders.
03What it doesn't let you do
Permission to talk with the servicer doesn't, on its own, let you:
- Change the loan terms
- Sign for the borrower
- Accept a settlement offer
- Commit the homeowner to a sale
A power of attorney is a different legal document. It can let someone act for another person. Rules vary by state, so have a lawyer review one before anyone relies on it.
The listing agreement and the authorization each cover their own ground. Don't describe either one as replacing the other.
If a request goes beyond what the authorization covers, stop and ask the servicer how to handle it. Keep the homeowner, and any lawyer or adviser they have, part of every decision.
04Worked example: the servicer won't talk to your assistant (fictional)
This example is fictional. A borrower signs an authorization that names the listing agent. Later, the agent's assistant calls the servicer, and the servicer won't discuss the account.
That doesn't mean the servicer lost the file. The assistant may not be named on the accepted authorization. Or the assistant may not have passed the servicer's identity check. Sort that out before you resend private documents or blame the representative.
05Keep a record of the authorization
Write down:
- The date you sent it
- How you sent it
- Who it covers
- The servicer's confirmation that it was accepted
Also check when it expires and how the borrower can cancel it. And find out what happens if the agent on the file changes. If the borrower takes back permission or your team changes, update your records and the authorization right away.
06Being allowed to talk doesn't mean anything is approved
Talking with the servicer doesn't mean the homeowner qualifies for any option. The authorization doesn't approve a short sale, release the homeowner from the debt or stop a foreclosure.
Track these as separate steps in your notes:
- Permission submitted
- Permission accepted
- Documents requested
- Review pending
- Written decision received
It helps the homeowner see that a good call is not the same as an approved sale.
At a glance
Where the file stands
| 1 | Permission submitted |
| 2 | Permission accepted |
| 3 | Documents requested |
| 4 | Review pending |
| 5 | Written decision received |
07Three questions before every servicer call (save this)
- Am I named on the authorization?
- Has the servicer accepted it?
- Does what I'm asking fit what it covers?
If you can't answer yes to all three, sort out access first through the servicer's own process. Authorization rules and forms vary by servicer and by state. When in doubt, ask the servicer and check with your broker.
08Quick self-check
Think of your next file with a servicer. Can you point to the servicer's confirmation that it accepted the authorization? Do you know whether your assistant is covered too? If not, that's your first task.
Next step
If you're working a short sale and get stuck on authorization, reach out. We're happy to help. Contact the KWDS team