There's HAFA, FHA PFS and VA Compromise Sale. What Else Is Out There?

Hi Julissa,

When a short sale does not fall under one of the specific short sale guidelines they are called a traditional short sale. The key to understand here is that each traditional short sale may have different guidelines for approval because they all have different investors, some are "delegated" (meaning the services has the right to make the final decision) and some are not (means the investor has to review and make the final decision. Most of the servicers (Chase, BOA, Wells Fargo, etc...etc..) will not tell you who the investor is and even if they did it's near impossible to track the results (I have been trying for over 3 years). Add in a mortgage insurance company or an uncooperative 2nd lien and there are more guidelines. So...what this means to you is that the short sale just needs to be handled step by step. The authorized third party (not the buyer's side) can call and ask the process and if it's delegated and that will give you some basics as to how it should go through but as to the actual guidelines of how the net will be calculated and which closing costs will and/will not be paid you won't know until they counter the offer. Also, as a buyers agent, if they issue a counter offer, it's wise to ask if this is the ONLY counter or if there will be any additional changes to the HUD1 or potential investor counters in the future. This helps keep our buyer engaged and informed and can help alleviate some of the frustrations from feeling "jerked around". If a buyer knows up front they will be countered up to 3 times in a transaction this will help them to accept that before it hits and also pace out their counter offers back. Hopefully I didn't overload you here & great question! Good luck and keep plugging! :)

Replies

Keri Sweetland March 28, 2012 at 2:43am

Hi Julissa,

When a short sale does not fall under one of the specific short sale guidelines they are called a traditional short sale. The key to understand here is that each traditional short sale may have different guidelines for approval because they all have different investors, some are "delegated" (meaning the services has the right to make the final decision) and some are not (means the investor has to review and make the final decision. Most of the servicers (Chase, BOA, Wells Fargo, etc...etc..) will not tell you who the investor is and even if they did it's near impossible to track the results (I have been trying for over 3 years). Add in a mortgage insurance company or an uncooperative 2nd lien and there are more guidelines. So...what this means to you is that the short sale just needs to be handled step by step. The authorized third party (not the buyer's side) can call and ask the process and if it's delegated and that will give you some basics as to how it should go through but as to the actual guidelines of how the net will be calculated and which closing costs will and/will not be paid you won't know until they counter the offer. Also, as a buyers agent, if they issue a counter offer, it's wise to ask if this is the ONLY counter or if there will be any additional changes to the HUD1 or potential investor counters in the future. This helps keep our buyer engaged and informed and can help alleviate some of the frustrations from feeling "jerked around". If a buyer knows up front they will be countered up to 3 times in a transaction this will help them to accept that before it hits and also pace out their counter offers back. Hopefully I didn't overload you here & great question! Good luck and keep plugging! :)
- Julissa Jumper > Keri Sweetland March 28, 2012 at 8:07am
  
  Thanks Keri. Appreciate your input.
Wendy Rulnick March 24, 2012 at 4:43am

Julissa - Most short sales don't fall into the categories of FHA, VA or HAFA. Yes, you can call the lenders and ask what their guidelines are, but it would be easier to check their websites, usually under categories such as "Help for Homeownners", "Avoid Foreclosure", etc.. Most of their links can be found on this site, right here!
- Julissa Jumper > Wendy Rulnick March 24, 2012 at 10:39am
  
  Thanks Wendy. That's most helpful.

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