HAFA

While none of my other HAFA experiences have ever been good ones, this Nationstar short sale was the exception to the rule and hopefully a sign of things to come.

My clients came to me when their two mortgages with Nationstar had become debilitating and their commute to work had become unmanageable.

After 6 weeks on market a buyer was secured and a full short sale package headed to Nationstar.

 A few weeks later I heard from our negotiator.

While my client was not “delinquent enough” to be approved for an in-house short sale, they could be approved via HAFA.  Despite 9-15 month timeframes on my previous HAFA approvals, seeing no other option I advised my client to go ahead and attempt the HAFA short sale.

To my surprise – Less than…

HAFA - Governments "streamline" short sale solution? I dont know about you, but to me 14 months and streamline sounds like an oxymoron.

I've never been a fan of HAFA, and this Seterus short sale certainly didn't sway my opinion. I originally listed the property and immediately my clients applied for the HAFA program. 6 months later, my clients were approved for HAFA...at about 30% over market value. We were unable to find a buyer to pay 130% of market value....but we were able to find one to pay market value. We moaned and groaned and convinced the lender they were off base with their value...and they did reconsider several months later. Unfortunately by then the buyer was long gone and we had had the pleasure of starting all over.

A few months…

July, 2010 I took a new Connecticut short sale listing. This was a Fannie Mae Bank of America loan. Fannie Mae had just gotten on board with HAFA and my new clients wanted to go with the program.

HAFA was supposed to be governments solution to “streamlining ” and “simplifying” the short sale process.

A summary of the last 15 months:

July 2010 –  I met with my new clients and their property went on market

October 2010  - After about 6 weeks  Bank of America finally acknowledged our requests and a  HAFA short sale file was opened.

December 2010 – A HAFA approval letter arrived with a GROSSLY EXAGGERATED valuation of the property that could NEVER be reached. We started the value dispute process.

April 2010 – After 5 months…

A perfect example of why HAFA is a miserable failure

I wasn't always against HAFA. When HAFA was announced last April, I attempted to remain optimistic about the program, despite feeble results from anything else produced by government to ease our housing problems.

Over a year later, I can officially say I hate HAFA. If my clients opt into this program I always do my best to get them through it, but the truth is the success rate of HAFA is unbelievably slow and low. Less than 1 in 10 of those I have seen through the program has actually had a desirable ending with HAFA, and unbelievable amounts of time get wasted in the process.

Just the other day I received another HAFA "approval" that presents many of the usual problems. At least this time…

Should I choose a HAFA short sale?

Many Connecticut homeowners that have decided to short sell will inevitably be offered the option of choosing to go with the lenders traditional short sale program or HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives)- government's short sale program.

While HAFA was originally touted as a "streamlined" solution to help underwater American homeowners and offers some benefits such as full debt forgiveness and $3,000 cash incentive, the reality of HAFA has proved to be quite different.

The decision to opt in or out of HAFA should not be taken lightly and here I have outlined the realities of both scenarios to help you make a decision.

The pros and cons of your lenders traditional short sale program vs.…

It took 9 months and a ton of aggravation but I finally witnessed a HAFA short sale actually close. This Connecticut short sale seller contacted me in March 2010 to get his home sold. Between a Bank of America first mortgage and a Bank of America HELOC, the home was seriously upside down.

Not two weeks later we had a buyer in contract and the sale was moving along smoothly in Equator. We anticipated a closing soon after. NOT SO FAST!!!! In early April the troubles began when my client became eligible for HAFA.

Although at that time the program was brand new and we did not know what to anticipate, the promise of $3000 and full debt forgiveness was too much for my seller to pass on and he decided to pursue the HAFA short sale approval.

A 9 month…

HAFA: the painfully slow road to a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

It has been 17 months since the launch of HAFA - government's "streamlined" short sale program - meant to simplify the short sale process and save families from foreclosure.

Unfortunately this program is proving to have the opposite effect. I have personally had a few of my sellers go through this program and at this point I am recommending all sellers steer clear of this program due to its many flaws and simple lack of desired effect.

A few examples:

One of my sellers has spent 6 months waiting to be approved into the program. 6 months later he has been approved, but to date we cannot get anyone at HAFA to actually tell us the terms of approval. Meanwhile, my seller has…

Caught in HAFA Hell...A Bank of America HAFA MESS!

On March 30, one of of my short sale listings went under deposit. By the end of April, this Bank of America short sale had gotten all the way to the very end of the short sale process (on Equator) and all was well. We were expecting an approval and we were getting ready to close....

NOT SO FAST!

On May 8 my client was moved into the new HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program.

The HAFA program (from government - "for the people") was designed to "streamline" the short sale process.

Just like any government program, HAFA has proved a miserable failure at streamlining anything. For almost 4 months we have chased this short sale through Bank of America's HAFA…

And just when I was starting to have hope for Bank of America. Since implementing Equator things have really been moving along. What were formerly 6-10 month short sale approvals were down to one or two months. There was some confusion during the transition but overall, the end result was a change for the better. Things were moving right along.

Along came HAFA. Government's new streamlined 10 day short sale program- right??? RIGHT!!!!!

All of a sudden one day 3 of my clients that were close to approval in Equator were halted and I received this message:

"Per our system, the seller has received paperwork about the HAFA government program. Please note that paperwork has been sent to the seller directly and contains the HAFA government vendor…