Bank of America recently issued a new Short Sale Agent Update that revises certain short sale requirements for short sales involving non-government-sponsored enterprise loans in which the homeowner is eligible for HAFA.
Key enhancements include:
- The Short Sale Agreement is being converted to a Short Sale Notice which will no longer require the borrower to sign and return the agreement.
- The Request for Approval of Short Sale and Alternative Request for Approval of Short Sale are being eliminated. The Acknowledgement of Request for Short Sale is being introduced in palace of the Request for Approval of Short Sale, but will no longer require borrower’s signature and return.
- The time frame for servicers to make a decision on a borrower’s request for HAFA has generally been shortened to 30 calendar days of receiving all documents and external approvals required.
- Treasury will now require both the seller and purchaser in a HAFA short sale transaction to sign a new HAFA Affidavit document prior to closing. This certifies that the sale represents an arms-length transaction and that no money is being given or received that is not reflected on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
- The prohibition against resale of a property for 90 calendar days following a HAFA short sale closing is being updated to prohibit any resale within 30 calendar days and prohibit a resale for more than 120 percent of the HAFA short sale price between 31 and 90 calendar days of the HAFA short sale closing.
San Diego Union-Tribune
A law that gives financially strained home-sellers tax relief on forgiven mortgage debt has been extended through 2013 as part of “fiscal cliff” talks.
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http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/02/mortgage-debt-relief-extended-homeowners/
Los Angeles Times
Unexpectedly low appraisals can happen for a number of reasons, especially when foreclosures, short sales, and other distressed properties abound.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-appraisals-20121111,0,2731897.story
Los Angeles Times
FICO scores for home sellers in a short sale can typically fall 150 points or more, complicating sellers’ credit scores for years and making additional borrowing — whether for auto loans, credit cards or new mortgages — tougher and more expensive.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20120909,0,439292.story
Bloomberg
Short sales accounted for 23.9 percent of home purchases in January, the most recent month available, compared with 19.7 percent for sales of foreclosed homes, according to Lender Processing Services Inc.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-17/short-sales-surpass-foreclosures-as-banks-agree-to-deals.html
The San Francisco Chronicle
IN a new development, banks are now selectively offering substantial sums of money – up to $35,000 – to some homeowners to encourage short sales.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/09/MNMS1N4S85.DTL&tsp=1
With 9,145 completed short sales, the Los Angeles area had more short sale transactions than any other metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the second quarter of this year, according to a recent blog post from RealtyTrac. These short sales came with an average discount of 32 percent and at an average price of $350,237. Phoenix ranked second in number of short sales for the second quarter with 8,434 short sales, which came with an average discount of 27 percent and an average price of $133,793. According to the RealtyTrac blog post, the metros with the highest numbers of short sales in the second quarter were:
1. Los Angeles
2. Phoenix
3. Cape Coral – Fort Myers, Florida
4. Oxnard – Thousand Oaks – Ventura, California
5. Reno – Sparks, Nevada
6. San Francisco
7. San Jose
8. Portland
9. Atlanta
10. MilwaukeeMore info
