Seller Incentive Programs

Some mortgage lenders are offering Seller incentives to complete a short sale. These financial incentives can range anywhere from $1500 to as much as $30,000. The reason the lenders are doing this is to encourage homeowners to be proactive and complete a short sale vs. allowing the home to foreclose. The lenders lose less money in a short sale, and these incentives raise homeowner awareness.

Not every lender is participating, and not every homeowner will qualify. We have had great success in getting cash back for many of our clients, but whether or not you qualify depends on several factors. The probability of you qualifying for a seller incentive can be easily ascertained with our initial consultation/evaluation.

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives – HAFA

Benefit to the homeowner:

• If you qualify, and your lender is willing to participate, you will receive $3,000 at the end of the short sale transaction
• Your short sale is approved up front, thus alleviating the stress and uncertainty typically associated with short sales
• The lender waives any rights to pursue you for the deficiency
• Click HERE for more information on the benefits of HAFA.

The actual definition for HAFA is:

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program is a government-sponsored initiative led by the US Treasury Department, administered by Fannie Mae with Freddie Mac as compliance agent, and executed by participating lenders to help homeowners avoiding foreclosure, specifically through short sales or deeds-in-lieu.

What it means:

For homeowners that don’t qualify for a loan modification program, or homeowners with whom default is imminent, or homeowners that have already defaulted, HAFA is a program where lenders approve short sales in an expedited fashion to streamline the short sale process and relieve homeowners of the deficiency. This does not apply to FHA, VA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed loans, although Fannie and Freddie are working on their own versions of this program.

Homeowner Eligibility:

For the homeowner’s loan to qualify, it must meet all of the following criteria:

• The property is the borrower’s principal residence
• The mortgage loan is a first lien mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009
• The mortgage is delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable
• The current unpaid principal balance is equal to or less than $729,750
• The mortgage is not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac

Participating Lenders:

So far it has been confirmed that Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, Citi, Wachovia and GMAC are all participating. There are many others and this list is growing. To find out if your particular lender/servicer is participating just give us a call at (855-696-2411).

To learn more about HAFA, CLICK HERE.