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        <title>Minna Reid's Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/fha/</link>
        <description>The Blog of Minna Reid, CT Realtor, short sale specialist. All about real estate and short sales in Connecticut from Minna Reid - CT's #1 Short Sale Realtor.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/another-connecticut-gmac-fha-short-sale-success.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/another-connecticut-gmac-fha-short-sale-success.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>Another Connecticut GMAC FHA short sale success!</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
GMAC - now my very favorite lender to work short sales with - delivers again.


When this Connecticut homeowner first called me, he seemed quite skeptical that a short sale was a possibility for him. Given his circumstances he was sure that his only option was to simply walk away and let the home foreclose as he believed he would never be approved for a short sale. I believed otherwise.


As the FHA PFS (pre-foreclosure sale) program allows preapproval, we immediately sent a full short sale package to GMAC and the home went on market. 7 weeks later a buyer was secured, which coincided perfectly with the timing on my sellers approval into the FHA PFS program. Unfortunately our FHA appraisal came in a tad high and the home had some inspection issues so some renegotiation with GMAC followed.


GMAC finally approved the short sale with our new terms and soon after this Manchester, CT short sale closed.


OWED: GMAC FHA insured loan - $230,000


APPROVED AND CLOSED, with $1,000 seller incentive paid out to homeowners: $150,000


TOTAL TIMEFRAME LIST TO CLOSE: 4 months


 
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            <pubDate>Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:02:14 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/a-happy-ending-to-a-miserable-metlife-short-sale-experience.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/a-happy-ending-to-a-miserable-metlife-short-sale-experience.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>A happy ending to a miserable MetLife short sale experience </title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
MetLife...The only positive thing I can say about this bank is that I am overjoyed they are no longer writing new loans since January 13, 2012. They truly do not belong in the mortgage servicing business.


I listed my clients home in June of 2011. Since they had an FHA insured loan, and the FHA short sale process is rather simple and predictable, I mistakenly assumed we were in for a smooth ride.


Boy, was I wrong. MetLife has one of the worst and most unresponsive loss mitigation departments I have ever seen. Not only did they blatantly disregard our file for weeks and months on several occasions, they even failed to follow FHA guidelines. On several occasions we were forced to get HUD to intervene to keep the file moving along.


One very patient buyer, endless frustrations and 10 months later - this MetLife FHA short sale closed and my South Windsor, CT short sellers were able to move on past their underwater home and finally say goodbye to MetLife.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:21:28 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/mccue-mortgage-sticks-it-to-the-taxpayer-a-ct-fha-short-sale-success.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/mccue-mortgage-sticks-it-to-the-taxpayer-a-ct-fha-short-sale-success.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>McCue Mortgage sticks it to the taxpayer - a Connecticut FHA short sale success </title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
McCue - Where did you go wrong?


McCue Mortgage used to be a pleasure to deal with and was generally efficient in their short sale processing...and then something happened. Some new folks showed up in loss mitigation...and the rest was all downhill.


This Meriden CT home first sold within a month on market in a multiple offer situation. The buyers were paying over market value. A full short sale package and high hopes headed over to McCue.


Four months passed as McCue's new loss mitigation staff fumbled around with our short sale file, ultimately declining the file. McCue cited lack of default as the reason for the decline, despite the fact FHA guidelines do not call for a default in order to get approval into the FHA Pre-foreclosure Sale program.


Sigh....


My sellers then defaulted and we started all over. The buyers were long gone and our next try back on market was not as successfull as the first. 6 months after originally going on market we secured a second buyer for $20,000 less than the first.


McCue spent another 2 months fumbling around some more with the file until ultimately we got an approval and the short sale closed.


Sure, it cost McCue Mortgage an extra $20,000 to muck up the file the first time...but since FHA (read taxpayer dollars) covers that loss to McCue...I guess it's no loss for McCue.


Hey, what's an extra 6 months and $20K when the taxpayer is footing the bill? Thanks McCue.


 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:34:41 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/a-ct-fha-short-sale-success-with-bbt.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/a-ct-fha-short-sale-success-with-bbt.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>A CT FHA short sale success with BB&amp;T</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
BB&amp;T – Branch Banking and Trust Company is a rather small lender. This particular loan was an FHA loan, which has its advantages to the short sale seller.


We submitted the short sale packet as the property went on market. It took over two months for BB&amp;T to take real action on the file, which happened to coincide with the time we secured a strong cash buyer for the home.  


To our surprise - the short sale approval arrived just over a week later, and shortly after we closed.


OWED: $200,000


APPROVED AND CLOSED WITH FULL DEBT FORGIVENESS: $83,000


FHA SELLER INCENTIVE: $1,000


TOTAL TIMEFRAME LIST TO CLOSE: 3 MONTHS
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            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:16:15 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/bank-of-america-fha-short-sale-success-after-6-long-months.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/bank-of-america-fha-short-sale-success-after-6-long-months.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>Bank of America FHA short sale success after 6 long months</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
A happy ending to a long story….BUT….what I don’t quite understand is why Wells Fargo and GMAC can process their FHA short sales through Equator (a fast and efficient online platform), yet Bank of America still requires all FHA short sales to be processed  manually.


A regular Bank of America short sale processed through Equator will generally take about 3-6 weeks….BUT this FHA MANUALLY PROCESSED short sale with Bank of America took a whopping 6 months to make it through the system.


Why BofA? It doesn’t need to be this way. 


There wasn’t even any good reason the short sale took 6 months to get approved…forcing sellers through endless qualifying, repeatedly losing paperwork and unresponsive negotiators are the only reasons this short sale took as long as it did. Thankfully after 6 very long months there was light at the end of this long tunnel and the short sale actually CLOSED.


OWED:Bank of America First Mortgage: $620,000, NFCU Second Mortgage: $40,000


APPROVED AND CLOSED:  $502,000


TIMEFRAME: 6 excruciatingly painful months


TIME TO PICK UP THE SPEED BofA!
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            <pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:28:34 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/connecticut-fha-short-sales-skyrocketing.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/connecticut-fha-short-sales-skyrocketing.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>Connecticut FHA short sales skyrocketing?</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
 


Yesterday I met with a Connecticut couple considering a short sale. Like most other short sales I have been involved with lately, this loan is an FHA loan. Now, I have not done an official study on the actual rates of FHA default, but as a CT short sale agent, it is very apparent to me that the FHA is becoming inundated with delinquent loans, short sales and likely foreclosures as well. 


 


A year or two ago I would rarely have an FHA short sale in the mix…but nowadays more than half of the new short sales I take on involve an FHA mortgage.


 


Furthermore, it seems FHA short sales are taking longer to get approved, and just recently it seems the FHA has taken a stance of “deny as many as possible” as I’ve also experienced a lot of resistance with what used to be some of the most painless short sale approvals. I believe this is all because FHA swamped with new short sale requests and lacks the man power to handle the volume effectively.


 


So whats coming down the line from FHA? How long can this entity stand as it is with what seems to be an evergrowing default rate? 


 


While the statistics say the Connecticut  rate of “seriously delinquent” FHA loans is just under 2% (as is the nationwide average), I do suspect that number will continue to grow quite quickly through the next several  years as more and more borrowers see no hope of a quick recovery and look to cut their losses.


 


Need help with an FHA short sale?


 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:12:24 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/becoming-a-homeowner-after-a-short-sale-how-long-will-you-have-to-wait.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/becoming-a-homeowner-after-a-short-sale-how-long-will-you-have-to-wait.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>Becoming a homeowner after a short sale - how long will you have to wait? </title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Are you considering or involved in a short sale in Greater Hartford/Eastern Connecticut? Wondering what it will take to buy a new house again one day?


Guidelines for post short sale borrowers are getting better all the time. Assuming you have taken other measures to improve your credit post short sale, gaining new financing is very possible after just a few years. 


A Fannie Mae mortgage will be available to you two years after your short sale, assuming you qualify otherwise. In fact, if you managed to not miss any payments prior to your short sale, you can get new financing immediately.


The FHA will also lend to you immediately after a short sale with no missed payments, or three years later if you were in default at the time of the short sale.


Most people are in default at the time their short sale is approved. Although it is possible to stay current on your payments and have a short sale approved, it is always very challenging to get a lender to approve a short sale for a current borrower.


So - the good news is that in general just 2-3 years after your short sale, you will be able to qualify for a new FHA or Fannie Mae mortgage, and it is my belief that many other lenders will follow suit and adopt these same guidelines.


Considering a short sale?
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:48:22 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/an-fha-short-sale-success-story.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.homesbyminna.com/blog/an-fha-short-sale-success-story.html</link>
            <author>minnareid@gmail.com (Minna Reid)</author>
            <title>An FHA Short Sale Success Story</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The FHA sure doesn't make it easy - but it can be done! I previously wrote about the problems with the FHA short sale process and this sale in particular came with its share of issues...but to make a long story short:




The client called me in August. Less than two years ago she relocated to CT for a lucrative position and bought a home. All was well until earlier this year when she got laid off. After a period of time on unemployment she found another position, for a fraction of the pay and several hours away. Her only choice is to relocate and the home which she had bought for $190k in 2008, is now worth about $130k.


I do write quite a bit about strategic default, however; for the record I would like to state that the great majority of people I speak to are in this position not by choice, but due to some outside factor - job loss, divorce, relocation, illness....


Anyway - I list the home and one month later we secure a buyer. The bank  - M&amp;T Bank -  is not terribly slow, but not quite a dream to work with either. I do get an actual live person to deal with fairly quickly, and on occasion he does answer the phone and get this - sometimes he even returns my calls.


FHA Short Sales have their problems though. There is a lot of red tape involved....the process has to be followed to a T and no exceptions can be made. Most concerning is their appraisal process. The appraisers are not allowed to comp against other distress properties, leading to a too high appraisal - EVERY TIME.


So about 6 weeks later we do have an FHA approval - for a price that is completely unrealistic. Due to the FHA short sale process of accepting a lesser net per 30 day interval, we are able to time the closing to a date when we can in fact make it work. Everyone sacrifices a little. We believe we are all set. A final HUD which my negotiator agrees with goes in for manager approval, with plans to close the following week.


My M&amp;T Bank negotiator then conveniently goes MIA for the next two weeks. I never hear back. Numerous calls and emails result in no response. By the way - the folks at M&amp;T loss mitigation will go out of their way to avoid anyone in management getting involved. Most of my calls to try to go over my negotiators head result in being dropped into dead end voicemail boxes, or I am given inaccurate email addresses so I am not able to follow through. Nice!


Eventually I am able to stir some action and am promised a final letter and wire instructions so we can close....but delays continue. Wiith the amount of taxes and HOA fees that have accrued since I've been ignored, meeting the net has become a challenge again. Again sacrifices are made by all parties. The last two days prior to closing I make at least 30 calls to M&amp;T to move them to action. Generally I am sweet as pie with my negotiators, but some days only the WITCH in me can get it done. These two days certainly qualify.


I finally secure an APPROVAL LETTER. We closed yesterday. My seller can breathe a sigh of relief and move on with her life. A first timer gets her first home. I move on to all the other shorts sitting on my desk and breathe my own sigh of relief that only one of the others is an FHA...whewww!


 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:34:25 -0600</pubDate>
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