These new rules are now issued under HAFA, or Home Affordable Foreclosure Assistance. They are issued under the auspices of the Home Affordable Mortgage Plan. The significant difference however, is that the banks got to write the rules to their advantage, not the homeowners. Subsequent to the original publication, realtors across the country are realizing what a huge headache HAFA can be. And once the distressed homeowner signs the HAFA commitment letter, they have sealed their fate.
A story in this week’s magazine follows up on our blog posting from two weeks ago about banks getting tougher on folks looking to sell their homes for less than what they owe and hopefully getting the lender to eat the difference, r deficiency—a process known as a short sale.
We mentioned in the magazine article that the U.S. Treasury is expected to issue rules soon aimed at streamlining the short sale process. Housing industry consultant John Burns tips us off to some of the new rules. The Treasury Dept. will offer subsidies, $1,000 to the mortgage servicer and $1,500 to home sellers to encourage short sales. The fees, he notes, are designed to incentivize the servicer for the extra work and get the seller to leave the house quickly and in good condition. If the reader thinks a $1000 is motivation for a mortgage servicer to eat a several hundred thousand dollar property, they’re just not thinking straight.
Of course, servicers and sellers aren’t the real reason short sales take so long and often fall apart. The problem lies with the lenders or mortgage investors who, justifiably, don’t want to take the kind of hit that is often necessary to sell a house in today’s market.
Government incentives or not, short sales are likely to be a big factor in the real estate business going forward. That’s because the pool of bank-owned homes is shrinking and many of the people selling today are in distress and trying to get out from under a mountain of mortgage debt.
Short sales were about 12% of all sales in August, 2009, versus 18% for bank-owned homes, according to the National Association of Realtors. But that ratio has changed since earlier this year. At their peak in March, 2009, bank-owned sales were 31% of the market vs. 18% for short sales. “We’ve gone through the subprime foreclosures,” says Thomas Popik, director of research at survey firm Campbell Communications. “The next wave is short sales by people who lost their jobs.”
Currently, (2010) the most efficient and beneficial path to short sale and elimination of mortgage deficiency is to first purchase the REST Report to see your financial options that may be enforced by a court, and secondly to consult an experienced investor who can make a cash offer for your house and negotiate both the short sale and mortgage deficiency for you.
I am a proud vendor of the REST Report and represent an experienced investor who knows how to negotiate mortgage hardships and mortgage deficiencies. It’s worth a look.
Click to read more about your Do-it-Yourself REST Report
Read it here
tags: do it yourself short sale, rest report, avoid foreclosure, foreclosure alternatives,stop foreclosure, prevent foreclosure,short sale colorado, home affordable foreclosure assistance, hafa,self negotiated short sale, negotiate short sale, investor negotiated short sale, discharge mortgage deficiency, homeowner negotiated short sale,
Originally posted 2009-10-05 04:27:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
