Register Real Estate Advisors

Did you buy your home in the years 2007 thru 2009? If your home is worth less than what you paid, you might be interested in finding out. There were a lot of subdivisions built during that time. The housing market was booming, the builders could not build homes fast enough. A the time, mortgage lenders were giving money away with “no doc” loans and very “flexible” appraisals.

Well the housing market has changed. You may have purchased your home at $75 to $100 per square foot where the homes in the neighborhood are now selling for $50 to $75 per square foot. You might be interested to find out if you are eligible to sell your home in a short sale. This is where the bank agrees to take less for your home than what you owe. The US government also has programs available to help home owners that qualify.

Please contact me at your convenience to see if you qualify for this type of sale. You should at least investigate your eligibility, instead of paying high mortgage payments on a home that you are upside down on.

I can be reached at 281-924-3032, or by email at dean@rrea.com

Hey guys and welcome to another addition of White Board Monday. This is the third (and final) installment on my series on HAFA, the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program. This video goes through the timeline you can expect to follow to get to a modification.

I hope you enjoy and find it informative. Call or email me anytime to get started! 281.288.3500 sheryl@rrea.com

Hey guys! Welcome back for another White Board Monday. Today, I am continuing my series on the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program. Enjoy! sheryl@rrea.com

Hey guys, it’s White Board Monday. Today’s topic is on HAFA, the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.

This program is a government run program designed to keep people intheir homes. I hope this is informative for you. Remember, if you or someone you know is in danger of being foreclosed on, we may be able to help. Call or email me today to get started.281.288.3500 or sheryl@rrea.com

Oh, yea. Happy Halloween!

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program (HAFA) will be providing short sale guidelines for loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and or Freddie Mac starting in April 2009.  For the property to be eligible it must be the borrower’s principle residence, first lien mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009, and the mortgage is delinquent or will be going delinquent in the foreseeable future.  The current unpaid principal balance must be equal to or less than $729,750.  The borrower’s total monthly mortgage payment has to exceed 31% of the borrower’s gross income.  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to come up with their own guidelines soon.

I have received a lot of phone calls lately about listing short sales.  I am currently getting my distressed property certification and short sale certifications because I am seeing such a need for them in this market.  I have taken short sale listings and continue to do so, but they are not easy.  Buyers need to understand short sales are time consuming and Sellers need to understand that the road is not without bumps at this time.  However, new legislation coming soon is going to streamline the process and help lenders to get through the process more quickly which will make buyers, sellers, Realtors, and banks happy!

As lenders adopt new federal guidelines for short sells, they will become less frustrating for everyone involved.  The short sale process will be standardized to some degree in 2009.  Lenders have the option to begin implimenting the new guidelines now, but they do not take effect until April of 2009.  These new short sale guidelines are part of the government’s new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program, known as HAFA.  This is part of President Obama’s Home Affordable Modification Program.  These new HAFA guidelines are voluntary, but major banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo are going to participate.  This will hopefully clear up some of the confusion between lenders, sellers, and Realtors about short sales and create somewhat of a roadmap for the three to work together to get the property sold. 

Because of HAFA, lenders will finally have a financial incentive to get these deals completed in a timely manner, which has been a huge problem until now.  The guidelines will provide standardized forms so there’s no confusion between the real estate industry about what the bank is expecting in the form of paper work.  It will include standardized time lines for getting an answer back to the buyer and seller, standardized procedures, and more.  Won’t it be great to have preapproved short sale terms prior to the property  being listed?  My sellers and buyers are joyful about that!!   

As with any new guidelines, they will take months to work out the details.  But this new process for short sales is the beginning to making short sales more successful for buyers and sellers.