A Good Reason to Do HAFA Short Sales in Sacramento

Several years ago, no Sacramento short sale agent I know was very happy with the way government short sales were run. But today it’s a different story. At least for the HAFA short sales. I am a Certified HAFA Specialist. It’s one of the few designations I felt it was important to get because it’s a certification in which I could learn something that I did not already know. A HAFA short sale is complicated because each is a little bit different, depending on the lender, and the Supplementals just keep coming. But every so often, you hit pay dirt.

I just closed a HAFA short sale over in Del Paso Manor. This was a home that the seller had tried to do a loan modification on for about two years. In fact, I don’t think she made a payment for two years while she struggled with this loan modification. Ocwen gave her the runaround like many banks do with loan modifications. I suspect, and I don’t know this to be a fact, but I suspect that banks really prefer to do a short sale. And whenever I am faced with a really difficult short sale, say, one in which the seller has, oh, over a million dollars in the bank, I will do a HAFA short sale. The guy with the million bucks did not live in Del Paso Manor.

I’m not telling you which of my short sales is or was the one with a guy who has over a million dollars in the bank. Just suffice to say that I suspect banks are a bit more lenient when granting a HAFA short sale than they are to do a traditional short sale. Believe it or not, the paperwork is reduced for a HAFA short sale these days. Not only that, but as long the boxes are checked and the hardship verified, the bank will probably not ask about the million dollars in the bank while processing a HAFA.

Banks get paid to do a HAFA short sale. The government pays the banks. The government will allow up to $3,000 as a relocation incentive payment to the seller as long as the seller occupies the home. Otherwise, that money goes to the tenant or it’s just not allowed if the home is vacant. But just because the seller might not receive a relocation incentive is no reason not to do a HAFA if your short sale appears to have no hardship. Think about this. Because as a Sacramento short sale agent, I surely do. It’s why I close so many short sales in Sacramento!

Not to mention, this is an excellent way for the banks to show the Feds that they are complying with all of those lawsuits. I’m telling ya, in many instances, HAFA is the way to go. Find yourself a Certified HAFA Specialist.

Note: The HAFA short sale time period expires on December 31, 2013. They are also no longer available for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Also, despite the illustration, no sign in your yard will say short sale on it.