If you don’t know much about short sales then the term “HAFA” may not mean much to you. But if you are thinking about doing a short sale on your home, the HAFA short sale is one short sale option that may be available to you. If you are not familiar with the government HAFA short sale program, you can read more at the MakingHomeAffordable.com website.
The HAFA program was rolled out in early 2010, and by late 2010 most mortgage companies are now participating in it (1st lenders only). So chances are if you have a first loan that is backed by Fannie or Freddie, you will have the option to apply (but don’t worry, if you have a 1st and 2nd loan you can still apply). If you are not sure if your lender participates in the HAFA program, call them or visit this website of participants. The one thing with HAFA as is with most housing related programs, they are very slow to start and have varying success – example, the HAMP loan modification program that was introduced. Most real estate agents have never successfully closed a HAFA short sale, or may be well into 1yr worth of time trying to close one. The fact is, even on a large scale, relatively few HAFA short sales have been closed.
The good news is things seem to be *somewhat* improving for the HAFA short sale process. We just closed a Wells Fargo 1st and 2nd loan HAFA short sale in 5 months. That 5 months is start to finish, not just the time to approve the short sale. Most lenders are getting a little quicker on approving, such as Bank of America HAFA short sales. We certainly hope banks will continue to dedicate resources to improving systems and process timeframes for these HAFA short sales. If you need more info on how the HAFA short sale program works and how you can apply, please contact East Bay Short Sale Group!
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