Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program
In light of the rising number of property foreclosures in the United States, the government launched the HAFA short sale program in April 2010 to help homeowners like you get out from under overwhelming mortgage debt. If the value of your home has dropped considerably below what you currently owe on your home it may be in your best interest to honestly look into a HAFA short sale. You will pay nothing to participate in a HAFA short sale and you are no longer responsible for the difference between what you owe on your mortgage and the amount that your home sells for. Plus as an incentive for cooperating, you will receive $3,000 in relocation assistance when the HAFA short sale is completed.
For those who have missed payment on their mortgage, you will be happy to know that HAFA requires that the lender agree to suspend all foreclosure sales in good faith, pending the outcome of the HAFA short sale process. Plus the lender must agree to pay the administrative. real estate brokerage and other closing costs associated with a HAFA short sale. Truly, homeowners pay absolutly nothing to participate in a HAFA short sale. Moreover, you will save your credit from having a foreclosure on your record, thereby avoiding a negative stigma on your credit for 10 years. Usually those who short sell now will be able to turn around in two to three years and buy a home again. We here at LMLC Inc. help homeowners with the entire HAFA short sale process. Plus, we also have ways to help you build up your credit so you may return to buy a home in just a couple of years. This alternative to having a foreclosure on your record is fantastic for those who qualify. But the time is running out to participate in the HAFA program which is sheduled to end on December 31, 2012.
HAFA Short Sale – Getting Started
The government has recently eliminated the need for a homeowner to document a financial hardship in order to qualify for a HAFA short sale. The debt to income hardship requirement for borrowers has been lifted. Previously, in order to qualify for a HAFA short sale, the mortgage payment on the first mortgage had to exceed 31% of your household gross monthly income. This is no longer the case. Since you will not be forced to document a financial hardship any longer, this should dramatically broaden the spectrum of borrowers like you who will qualify for the HAFA short sale program.
To qualify for a HAFA short sale however, you must meet all of the following criteria:
- You live in the home or have lived there in the last 12 months.
- You have not purchased a new house within the last 12 months.
- Your first mortgage is less than $729,750.
- You obtained your mortgage on or before January 1, 2009.
- You must not have been convicted within the last 10 years of felony larceny, theft, fraud or forgery, money laundering or tax evasion, in connection with a mortgage or real estate
HAFA Short Sale – Getting Started
- The lender is required to forgive any deficiency.
- The seller will get $3,000.00 at close of escrow.
- The short sale will be pre-approved and the listing price will be provided to us by the loan servicer.
- The servicer will provide written approval within 10 days of receipt of an executed purchase contract.
- The servicer will pay up to 3% to junior lien holders, but no more than $6,000.00.
