Update to HAFA Short Sale Program in 2013

The "Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative" (HAFA) program is a program for distressed homeowners to sell their homes and avoid foreclosure.

This program applies only to participating lenders who agreed to participate in the government's "Home Affordable Modification Program" (HAMP). There are currently about 100 participating lenders, including Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America. On February 1, certain rules were changed for these lenders (who are not Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, or FHA/VA lenders, which are excluded from this post), which simplified some of the steps.

One change now in effect is that the property is no longer required to be owner-occupied, in fact, it may be vacant or tenant-occupied, to be eligible for a HAFA short sale, and the tenant/borrower/non-borrower occupant may qualify for the $3,000 in relocation assistance. Payment to subordinate mortgage lienholders (do you have a 2nd mortgage?) has been increased to a maximum of $8500.

Borrowers are no longer required to successfully complete an initial trial loan period or be eligible for a HAMP loan modification in order to be eligible, and the borrower may apply directly for the HAFA program.

The hardship must be verified by the borrower's lender, with no convictions relating to mortgage fraud or real estate transaction within the past 10 years. A hardship means the borrower must show, among other things, they no longer have sufficient assets to make the mortgage payment (these are  not supposed to include retirement funds).

The current program cutoff date is December 31, 2013 for submission of request for a short sale, or request for approval of an executed sales contract, with conclusion of the transaction by September 30, 2014.

There are specific procedures and forms the borrower must cooperative with during the approval process, which includes about 12 steps including all borrower document submission and lender deadlines. Additional information may be requested depending on the particular loan investor on the borrower's loan.

For a more complete fact sheet on a HAFA short sale, please contact me and I will be happy to e-mail the information, plus links to informational sites.

What is a HAFA short sale?

Short sales have not gone away by any means.  Although the number of actual short sales for residential properties has decreased greatly just since the beginning of 2012 in the south Los Angeles County/north Orange County region, the number of homeowners estimated to be in an "underwater" value position is about 25%-30% of the market. A search in today's MLS in the City of Long Beach, out of 492 active residential listings, about 71 are listed under short sale conditions, or about 14% of the active market.  Interestingly, the number of short sales in October 2012 compared to October 2011 has actually increased by 28% overall in the same general region, with short sales being about 6% of the combined market in all the local cities of this local region.

There are, however, reasons for a decline in short sales, one of which is there is still a great number of owners who go into foreclosure without ever attempting to list their home first; next, some do list their home but are unsuccessful in selling before the bank takes it over.  Nationally, more than 7 out of 10 homeowners go into foreclosure without visible intervention.

Currently, there are over 100 lenders participating in the HAFA (the government-subsidized Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative), including Citimortgage, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and many servicers.

For a homeowner to participate in this program, there must be certain requirements met--your home must be listed with a local real estate agent, and the necessary documents must be submitted before December 31, 2013, and close by the following September of 2014.  First, it must be a loan other than one by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or insured by FHA, or the VA.  It must be a first trust deed originated before Jan. 1, 2009, and the loan amount for a house or a condo (1 unit) must be under $729,750. The borrower must comply with the specific timelines in this program. The borrower may have more than one property approved for sale under this program, but cannot have purchased a property in the last 12 months..  Last but not least, the borrower must be in a hardship situation.

Now, HAFA will not apply to all borrowers because about 60% of California's mortgages were issued under Fannie Mae, which is excluded from HAFA.  (But Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also have hardship program, please contact me for information.)  The bank or servicer may not attempt to collect any additional sums (i.e., cash or note) from the borrower after the property is approved for a HAFA sale, and the bank may not complete a foreclosure sale if the borrower complies with the HAFA sale terms.

There's about 9 steps to complete (including close of escrow) to go through a successful HAFA short sale.  What are the pluses? You may have some financial incentives to move under this program, and you may also be able to obtain a release of your second lien. 

Are you being scammed?  See this video here for the 5 basic trouble signs you want to watch out for.

The same banks have their own "cooperative" short sale programs which are similar to the HAFA program; currently Bank of America in particular is doing an outreach to certain borrowers.
For more specific information see Making Home Affordable and a HUD telephone number to call for housing counseling. 

This is a sale which requires the assistance of a real estate professional.  Please contact me for more specific information which can be e-mailed to you about this program.  Please remember you may have other options (do you think you still have equity in your property? that actually happens), and there are other short sale programs being offered right now, some of which offer a great deal of cash incentive to the borrower, so please call me about the HAFA or any other short sale program. Don't let your house go into foreclosure if you can possibly help it.

Julia Huntsman, 562-896-2609

Borrowers are always advised to seek advice from their tax and/or legal professionals.

Staying on Top of HAMP, HAFA and HARP Homeowner Programs

Staying on top of the string of programs created to help owners caught up in the perfect storm of a high unemployment, rampant underemployment and declining home values, can be confusing to say the least. Here’s a brief overview of the acronyms spawned by the foreclosure crisis:

• HAFA—The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program was designed to help homeowners to avoid the negative effects of foreclosure by establishing incentives for completing a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. In a short sale, the loan servicer accepts a loan payoff amount from an underwater borrower that is less than the amount actually owed on the first mortgage. With a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, the borrower transfers ownership of the property to the loan servicer. HAFA provides for $3,000 in relocation assistance after a successful short sale or deed-in-lieu. Which  route you go depends very much on your immediate and longterm situation--before you act, you should consult with a professional for your options.
• HAMP—The Home Affordable Modification Program was designed to help homeowners who are no longer able to make mortgage payments on time due to decreased income or an increase in the monthly payment amount. HAMP reduces a homeowner’s monthly mortgage payment to 31 percent of gross income following a series of steps on the part of the mortgage servicer that can include a rate reduction, a term extension of up to 40 years, deferred principal payments, and (possibly) a lowering of principle. Here is the link to the list of servicers or banks agreeing to participate in this program. On the Loan Lookup tool, you may be able to find out if Fannie or Freddie own your loan.
• HARP—The Home Affordable Refinance Program enables homeowners whose mortgages are backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and who owe more than their home it’s worth, to refinance and take advantage of today’s historically low interest rates. Originally, HARP was only available to homeowners whose first mortgage did not exceed 125 percent of the current market value of their home.
• HARP 2.0—Starting Dec. 1, 2011, the 125 percent loan-to-value ratio will be eliminated, enabling eligible borrowers to refinance under HARP regardless of how far underwater they are on their mortgage.

Making your way through the maze of programs can take time -- and the situation is often more complicated than it looks at first. Take this survey or contact me for additional help contacting or concerning your servicer, and finding out if your loan is owned by Fannie or Freddie.

And, homeowners looking for information on the national mortgage servicing settlement announcement by the Department of Justice should visit NationalMortgageSettlement.com. Click on the logo below for more information: