It is clear that homeowners are putting pressure on the government and the government is finally starting to lean on the banks. This change is a great program for homeowners that only have one lien holder.  Working with a Short Sale Expert will further increase the success.

 Here are some highlights from a nice article in the Miami Herald regarding the guideline changes. 

10-day limit on short sales may spur housing market

Highlights are:

…. Homeowners stuck while banks mull whether to approve short sales could benefit from new federal guidelines that give lenders a 10-day limit to respond to offers…..

Aside from imposing a 10-day deadline, the Treasury rules call for sellers to receive $1,500 moving allowances, and the sellers will not have to repay any of the debt.

Also, lenders will get $1,000 to cover administrative and processing costs, while investors owning the mortgages will receive a maximum $1,000 for allowing up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to less senior lenders.

AFFECTED BANKS

The 83 loan servicers participating in the Obama Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, are required to follow these guidelines for all borrowers who request short sales or who did not complete loan modifications.

The rules do not specifically apply to loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which represent about half of all U.S. mortgage debt. The government-run mortgage companies are working to finalize their guidelines.

Click here for the complete article.

Posted via email from Lender Help Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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About Lender Help Inc:
Lender Help Inc. is a real estate services company which is centered on closing real estate short sale transactions. With over 15 years experience in the real estate market, we’ve built an invaluable network of mortgage companies, banks, developers, and property owners and have used this expertise to help homeowners and lenders negotiate the complicated process of avoiding foreclosure. 

Wachovia is the first lender to help make the short sale process short! That’s right they have tested a fast track short sale in the central valley and it was a huge success!

Now this program is available to all homeowners with Wachovia loans.I can get you:

• 7 day turnaround of your Short Sale
• $2500 in moving expenses from Wachovia if a Short Sale is your best option
• A manager (not a clerk) will discuss your situation

But you must contact me to help expedite your options.  Do not delay get a hold of Troy Huerta today to see if you qualify for a fast track transaction

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD5C0hTmrIg

“We have a massive government intervention going on,” said Sean O’Toole, founder and chief analyst for real estate Web site ForeclosureRadar. “We simply don’t have the political will to foreclose on these folks.”

“What’s pushing it forward is there’s such a lack of inventory, and you’ve got this huge Realtor force that needs something to sell,” he said. “This (Short Sales) is one of the things that gives them something to sell.”

Short sales also suffer from being complicated deals involving multiple lenders and thus multiple bureaucracies. In the end, the deals can take nine months or longer to complete.

“You’ll have a lot of people lining up to offer short sales, but it’s tough to get the banks attention to give them a deal,” said Nathan Moeder, a real estate economist with The London Group.

Troy Huerta continues to be the Short Sale Expert in San Diego. As a Realtor in San Diego the best thing you can do to improve your earnings in 2010 is contact Troy to help you become successful selling Short Sales.

DS News recently had an article regarding this effort.

“This is the first time that short sales have been handled through an electronic platform,” said Equator CEO Chris Saitta. “With our new system, everyone works together in real time, dramatically improving communication and approval timelines for our client, its borrowers, vendors, and real estate agents.”

“Short sales can be a daunting, complicated, frustrating task for everyone involved,” Saitta said. “This fresh approach using our sophisticated platform makes it fast and efficient for all parties involved.”

Troy sees the software platform as helpful, but the content placed in the forms is still key and you need an expert to managing this effort to succeed.

Click here for the article

…Last year, lenders often took three to six months to respond to a short-sale offer…. the Obama administration put pressure on lenders to do more short sales and fewer foreclosures…. If buyers know they can expect a response from the lender in 30 to 45 days and not four to six months, they’ll be more inclined to make an offer….

Click here to get the full article

Click below for the PDF:
Troy Huerta and Lender Help in Smart Money a WSJ Magazine

But agents say short sales have grown more complicated than ever, because of their sheer number, because of the prevalence of second loans, and because several large lenders have recently merged with others. Agents have complained that it’s possible to call a lender three times in a week and get three different people responsible for the same property.

But take great exception with this:

Beer said the situation may have eased in the last couple of months as lenders develop standards for approving short sales. The second loan is often paid off at 5 cents on the dollar, a low percentage that is nonetheless fair because such lenders get nothing in the event of a foreclosure, Beer said.

I don’t feel there has been much easing because the banks are so overwhelmed. Most second lenders will not even consider releasing the lien for less than 10% of their outstanding balance. BofA is now requesting the sellers provide a small cash contribution at closing or sign a promissory note as part of a morale obligation.

Here is the link to the article

Luckily by the end it got real as the to the real situation:

She tells the borrower he has to be able to support even a reduced mortgage payment, and he doesn’t make enough money to do that. That sounds reasonable. Except that as I look over her shoulder at the borrower’s income, he still makes $2,400 a month, and judging by what he owes — around $200,000 — it appears that he actually should qualify for help through the government’s Making Home Affordable plan.

I ask Ingram about this, but she says that that isn’t right. “No, he does not qualify,” she says.

But, in this case, too, after NPR inquired further with supervisors, it turned out that the homeowner actually did qualify. So, even just while I was at the call center, either the computer or somebody made a mistake, and a homeowner got rejected when he shouldn’t have.

In the end, the bank did offer the homeowner a loan modification. Bank of America says that while NPR’s inquiry may have expedited that decision, the bank would have come to the same conclusion through its own review process.

Housing advocates say major banks are denying help to thousands of people who should qualify, and many don’t get saved by a second look.

Meanwhile, this year alone, 2 million people are on track to lose their homes through foreclosure — the most since the Great Depression.

After hearing and reading the report it demonstrates why  why agents and sellers need to work with specialists. The Senior Vice President Ken Scheller is in charge of “home retention” — an effort he says is designed to “keep as many people in their homes as possible,” but they have these horrible call centers.  They hire customer service people who are not sophisticated enough to put in the right data to calculate income.

Mr. Scheller should be hiring out of work loan officers that understand loans and the qualifying process.  Many good people are loosing their homes for lack of knowledge with the big banks.

Loan modifications can work…but as the article stated if you can not repay the debt short sales and deeds in lieu of foreclosure need to be looked at.

Here is the link for to hear the report on Morning Edition

San Diego Business Journal did a nice article on my arrangement, but got a few of the details wrong.  Real Estate Insight has not merged with Coldwell Banker.  I am running their Short Sales Division, but as a consultant.

But as they say any publicity is good publicity.  Here is a link to the article