A few months back I had put an offer in on a Florida short sale for the exact amount they were asking. Their mortgage was through BOA and there were no third party lenders involved. I was told that they had an attorney and that their hardship letter had already been submitted to the bank (but that the list price was not yet bank-approved). I was told it had been on the market since March 2010 and that they had gotten a few offers, but none reasonable enough. My offer was immediately accepted. It began as a traditional short sale, but a month and a half into the process they were told to go the HAFA route. Being the buyer, the details that I know are limited. But every time I had received an update along the way I made note of it so I could see how it was progressing. I came across this site during my frustrations of trying to better understand the short sale process, and I noticed that it seems like it is rare for HAFA short sales to go well. I had lost some hope for a while, fully expecting them to not be HAFA approved and for all of it to be a waste of time, but last Friday my realtor called to tell me the bank countered with a price only $2,000 higher than my original offer! I’m guessing that was the HAFA-approved price. I agreed and signed, along with the seller, and now we are just waiting on the bank. I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel! There is hope for HAFA short sales after all!

Here is my time-line so far:

Sept 28- Submitted offer to seller. Seller approved & signed.
Oct 1- Offer submitted to BOA, went into equator
Oct 19- BPO call to access (21 days since offer)
Nov 9- File went to HAFA dept (42 days since offer)
Dec 13- HAFA has all documents, going to underwriter at end of week (76 days since offer)
Jan 7- Bank approved price of $77,000! I accepted. (101 days since offer)
Jan 10- New signed addendum has been sent to BOA

I will keep everyone updated on the final turnout. It will still be a while yet because my loan is going to be a USDA loan which takes up to 60 days…but I am getting closer! Just wanted anyone who is going through a short sale involving HAFA to stay positive : )