REALTORS® Applaud FHFA for Expanding Short Sale Eligibility to Help More Struggling Homeowners

REALTORS® Applaud FHFA for Expanding Short Sale Eligibility to Help More Struggling Homeowners

Days after FHFA and Fannie Mae announce REO Bulk Sales in the Inland Valley, the N.A.R applauds FHFA for making changes to the Short Sale Process in an attempt to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

So what does this mean?  It means for those that have already lost their home to foreclosure it’s too late to turn back the hands of time, but those of you that are still in your home and struggling to make a mortgage payment, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going to try to help streamline the Short Sale Process and approve Short Sales more quickly.

This is NOT a get out of your mortgage FREE card.  As a homeowner that is underwater, you will still need to qualify for the Short Sale.  The homeowner will need to prove a Hardship, and be willing to sell the property then move out.  So, please if you’re reading this and you’re upside down on your mortgage and simply want relief but you don’t have a true hardship, don’t get your hopes up as, again, this is not a get out of your Mortgage FREE Card.

FHFA has proposed this type of system in the past and to be honest it’s helped, but has not been as great as everyone had expected.  The Short Sale process has become much quicker than a couple years ago (short sale approvals were taking up to a year to receive).  Now the average time for a Short Sale approval on a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgage still takes on average of 90 to 120 days.

See below for more information posted by the N.A.R

For more information or if you have questions please feel free to contact Troy Sage.  Our team of Short Sale Experts have over 20 years experience in helping Homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The National Association of REALTORS® applauds the Federal Housing Finance Agency for working with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to issue new guidelines that expand eligibility criteria and streamline the short sale process.

The new guidelines would offer a more streamlined short sale approach for homeowners most in need, as well as enable lenders to quickly and easily qualify certain homeowners for a short sale who are current on their mortgage payments, yet suffer from specific hardships such as job relocation, increase in housing expenses, unemployment and disability. The FHFA guidelines will also consolidate existing short sales programs into a single uniform process and provide lenders and homeowners clarity on processing a short sale when a foreclosure sale is pending.

“As the leading advocate for homeownership, REALTORS® know that when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home, a short sale is often the best option for homeowners hoping to avoid foreclosure,” says NAR President Moe Veissi. “REALTORS® appreciate FHFA’s efforts to increase the number of short sale approvals, which limit the losses incurred by homeowners, lenders, the federal government and taxpayers.”

NAR worked closely with FHFA and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create the new guidelines and has long advocated improving the short sale process to provide more distressed homeowners with alternatives to foreclosure. NAR believes that improving short sale eligibility will allow more families to avoid foreclosure and reduce the negative impact foreclosures have on families and communities. Short sales also help stabilize home values and neighborhoods by keeping homes occupied, which benefits the housing market and aids in the recovery.

Veissi praised FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco for responding to consumer and REALTORS®’ requests to increase the number of short sale approvals, and called on lenders to work harder to make short sales work for more underwater families hoping to avoid foreclosure.

“We hope these new guidelines will allow many more hardworking American homeowners that would have previously been denied a short sale to now be approved and avoid defaulting on their mortgage loan,” says Veissi.

Implementation of the new guidelines should begin on November 1.

Information provided by Troy Sage of TSS Realty Group and Susanne On August 25, 2012 @ 12:03 am In Business Outlook,Finance and Economy,Home Owner News,Real Estate News,Real Estate Trends,Today’s Top Story