HAFA Real Estate Short Sale Information for San Diego County.

Like it or not, short sales are going to be with us a while.

No one wants to loose their home and yet some circumstances are beyond ones control. The short sale may be a better option that an actual foreclosure.  You can visit our Short Sale category or Short Sale Help for more information from posts written over the last several years.  I have tried to bring those resources together on this page giving people some good information on the options available.

First you should talk to an attorney or financial advisor.  Making these decisions will have substantial effects on your credit and only these professionals can advise you of your best options.  Real estate brokers are licensed to provide real estate information and cannot give legal advice or tell you how a short sale will ultimately effect your credit standing.

Beware of people promising impossible results – they know where to find you.

Short sales are anything but short or easy, HAFA is an attempt to change that.  I wrote a post sometime ago about the short sale experience.

The Government has put into place a program called HAFA or Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives. This program is for those that don’t qualify for HAMP or Home Affordable Modification Program.  While the program has been offered since April 2010, it has been a rough start.  The program runs through December 31, 2012.  The goal of HAFA is to standardize the process and make it quicker.

HAFA Basic Eligibility Eligibility Requirements

• The home must be owner-occupied principle residence.
• It must have a first trust deed mortgage(loan) in place prior to January 1, 2009.
• The mortgage must be delinquent or delinquency is likely.
• The unpaid loan balance is no more than $729,750 for a single family home.
• Your monthly payment is more than 31 percent of your gross income.

Here are some of the advantages of the HAFA program:

• Buyer’s will know where they stand in the purchase.
• Seller’s will walk away from the property more dignity.
• Fewer deals with fall through at the last minute.
• Uniformity of forms used in the process.
• 10 day business response from lender upon presentation of executed offer.
• If Seller not approved for HAFA may be considered for deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
• Mandatory deficiency release.
• $3,000 in moving expenses.

My prediction is this program will increase in use in the next several years. Like many Government programs it is very complexed and education of your real estate agent will be critical.  I am actually going to enroll in the California Association of REALTORS® Certified HAFA specialist program.

There has been lots of critical talk and finger pointing on the HAFA program. While it is not perfect, I believe that for many people it will give them an out of an impossible situation and allow the real estate market to stabilize.  It may be another 6 months before the program is really rolling.

Web Resources:

• Fannie Mae’s HAFA Program.
• Freddie Mac’s HAFA Program.
• Making Home Affordable.

Virtual Library Resources.

If you have any questions regarding the HAFA program please post your question below or give me a call.  The best thing you can do is take action and get some help – the sooner you’ll be in a better situation.