What!? A short sale program that requires the bank to respond within 10 days?! And… a potential closing between 60 and 120 days?! That really would be “short”!
I’m talking about a program called HAFA – SO? Who qualifies?
- Someone who cannot afford their first mortgage
- Someone who applied for modifications and cannot be qualified
- Someone who wants to avoid foreclosure
It’s a federal program that has specific performance requirements by the banks who decide to participate including:
- Processes the bank must follow including the lender giving the homeowner and the real estate agent a price the bank will accept before listing the home. (no more guessing what the bank is thinking and playing with the seller and the buyers emotions and agents wasting countless hours with a bank who doesn’t want to help the seller sell!)
- Timeframes the bank must follow to communicate decisions (Deadlines! Imagine this – the bank must follow a deadline!)
- Waived deficiency from the seller
Additional seller benefits:
- Lien payoffs to the second lien holder (limited to 6% of unpaid balance up to $6000)
- Move assistance money (up to $3000)
I wrote about this program in March, but it didn’t include Fannie or Freddie loans. As of Aug 1st they have a version of this program they are following. The HAFA program does NOT include, FHA, VA, or Ginne Mae loans at this time.
Lenders who are participating will send the seller a packet letting them know that they qualify for the HAFA program. Many times, the seller needs to agree to this within a short amount of time after they have been denied the modification. if you the seller or an agent is not sure, ask the lender so you know how to market the property and so the seller understands that if the house doesn’t sell within a certain period of time, they will do a deed in lieu instead of a foreclosure or a short sale.
You can go to the Official Federal HAFA Website with detailed guidelines and more links.
Special thanks to Elizabeth Million and Ken Caiani from Bank of America Corporation who is participating in this program and to Kathy Fogel, and Beverly Cribari from Assured Title Agency, LLC for preparing and hosting this class to help us realize there are some positive guidelines coming from the insanity of the past few years!
P.S. Please let me know if I can help you (or someone you know) get help if you are, or think you might be, in a short sale position or a foreclosure position so that either I can help you or we can get you the help you need. As of last week Bank of America has place a moratorium on their foreclosures, but this won’t last long. Call me. 303-995-3180