The government short sale program (HAFA) came into effect in April 2010. The program was well thought out to make the process a little less painful to all the parties involved. There are improvements to the short sale process with banks that decide to participate. It’s a voluntary program that is full of bureaucracy and red tape, but if it improves the short sale process even a little, it may be worth it. The Metts Group has already closed on a townhome short sale using this program in May 2010. With HAFA, distressed home owners will get $1500 after the sale to help them relocate and move on.
If your loan cannot be modified, you can short sell it. If a loan modification does not work for you (unemployed, too little income, etc.), the short sale HAFA program may be offered. With this program, your lender will order an appraisal and give the listing agent the amount they will accept for a short sale within 7-10 days of meeting with you. Once your home is listed in the MLS, you will be able to close within 45 days of an accepted offer. If you have heard of the nightmare short sale time frames with some banks, you know this is an incredible improvement. Once you sell the home, they will not ask you for a deficiency note!
The fast track program HAFA program is incredibly streamlined if you have one mortgage with these banks and it’s a loan in their portfolio (not sold to investors or other banks). Things may get a little more complicated if you have a second loan on your property However, it’s still a much better system. Your lender has no control over your second lien holder (mortgage #2). The HAFA participating banks do, however, offer 10% to your second lien holder, much more than the standard “up to $3,000″ that most banks offer.
There are a couple of banks that are reaching out to home owners and encouraging them to modify their loans, or list their home for a short sale. If you have received an overnight letter by Fed/Ex from your lender that you were not expecting, you are one of the lucky ones. These banks have a fast track program for distressed home owners, even if you are not delinquent on your payments.
If you are a home owner who received an overnight letter from your lender, give me a call at 727-216-8346 and I’ll be happy to meet with you and explain the process.
For buyers, this is great news! There won’t be a wait for bank approval because the bank will have approved it before it was listed. When you come across one of these homes you know you will be able to close just as fast as a normal listing or bank owned home, but most of the time you’ll get a much better deal. If you are interested in buying one of these homes, give us a call!
Jeanine and Howard Metts
Metts Group at Future Home Realty
2653 McCormick Drive, Clearwater, FL 33759
Phone: 727-418-5224 or 727-631-4191