Another short sale approval came in today.    Another young family can now move forward and use the $3,000 check to help them relocate.  This was a HAFA short sale and another $6,000 from the proceeds were given to the second lien holder to help settle their claim.  After submitting the offer, it took less than 45 days to get the final approval.   This approval again, contradicts the rumors floating around out there that HAFA automatically causes delays in short sales.   HAFA deals with deadlines and was designed to speed up the process.

It was good for the bank, the seller and the buyer.   The house may not have sold for the amount borrowed, but we received a fair market value offer that was sufficient to pay monies to all parties involved to get them all to settle.   A happy day for all.  A good day for all.
Wells Fargo Approval

For those of you who have been following HAFA, one thing that bothered most people was the fact that the large GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not participating in the HAFA program.  Well, as of June 1, that is no longer the case.  Both Fannie and Freddie have announced they will implement their own version of HAFA starting August 1, 2010. Like the private sector’s  HAFA program, the program will end on December 31, 2012.

However, some of the major differences offered by the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac HAFA programs include, but are not limited to:

- Both institutions will pay the servicer a $2,200 incentive fee for successful short sales
- Both institutions will pay the servicer a $1,500 incentive fee for all successful DILs
- The Deed for Lease (D4L) is available for borrowers who request and are approved to remain in the property following a successful DIL

The specific details on these programs are listed in their websites.  eFannieMae.com andFreddie Mac Bulletin.

What does this latest move mean?  It simply means that with the two large Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) now on board with HAFA, the short sale process and its effect on how the process will be handled in the future is now complete.  The days of lenders dragging their feet and making up their own rules on how short sales will be processed and approved is over now (theoretically, at least).  Everyone will have the same process by which to abide.

One of the biggest benefits of a HAFA approved short sale is the cash contribution component to the homeowners for their moving expenses.  This was commonly called Cash for Keys in the REO world, and now it is available to the short sale world as well.