HAFA question for the experts

When HAFA first came out, I could have sworn that I read some where that the lender is supposed to give the borrower the HAFA forms, apply, and then the lender does a BPO upfront before the home is even listed and tells you what price you can list at that they will accept.  I have a friend who wants to do a HAFA short sale and she's requested the HAFA forms of her lender and they said they won't provide them until her home is listed and she has an offer.  My understanding was that if you request them, they have to provide them and give you a price upfront.  Am I wrong, did something change?

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Permalink Reply by Liane Jamason on October 5, 2011 at 10:04am
P.S.  If my understanding IS in fact correct, anyone know where it states this guideline that I can print out and give to my friend to show to her lender?
Permalink Reply by Wendy Rulnick on October 5, 2011 at 10:17am
Liane - HAFA is a voluntary program that the lenders can modify. It is true that some lenders do not set an initial price, but wait for an offer.
Permalink Reply by Melanie Ross on October 6, 2011 at 1:59pm
Liane, We tried to do HAFA with a Bank of America loan, went through the entire process and AMS said put it on the market because it has MI, when we got an offer then we asked for HAFA again.  Still waiting 60 days later, altho we are escalating. MI was the reason they could do the pre approved HAFA.
Permalink Reply by Eric Mieles on October 6, 2011 at 3:53pm

Liane,

HAFA, as Wendy said is a voluntary program. If were talking about BOA then you have two options. You can attempt to do a HAFA short sale where you get a preapproved listing price. You will be working with an outsourcer by the name of AMS. They handle HAFA shorts for BOA without an offer.

If you market and get an offer and then initiate the HAFA short with BOA and you qualify for HAFA then they will outsource you to LRC or UTLS.

Getting an RMA, Dood Frank, 4506T are very easy, Just Google it. Also you mentioned MI. Please be sure to check UPFRONT what the qualifications are (If they even approve HAFA) so you don't waste 4 months and then at then end get a call saying "MI doesnt do HAFA".

Also I would possibly reconsider trying to get preapproved HAFA. Why do you think that is the best way to go? I have learned that whenever you get preapproved listing prices you ope yourself up for potential problems in valuation disputes. Yes, you may like advertising a "Preapproved" short sale but it's no good when the MV of the home and the preappoved price is way off. Now you have to spend all your time fighting the gap and trying to close the deal.

Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by William F Griffin Jr on October 7, 2011 at 9:00am

Eric,   you are right on the money there.  My neighbor initiated a HAFA short sale with BofA which was outsourced to AMS.  The listing price and Close by date were preapproved on the agreement.    The house was priced too high and he was given 90 days to close the deal or turn over the keys in a deed in lieu.  We are now trying to get an extension but it is not looking good.  I spoke with a rep today with LRC on another deal and she admitted on the phone that the HAFA valuations are considerably higher.  She called me this morning regarding this seller going HAFA and the 1st thing I did when I got to the office was call United Guaranty and they will not participate.

Permalink Reply by Kimberley Kelly on October 7, 2011 at 1:35am
I'm with Eric here.  I have had about a dozen HAFA short sales approved recently.  None of them were "pre-approved List prices"  I tried to do that and it took forever because the BPO's were too high and I had to let the time eat away to get new ones done.  Best to list, get an offer, then apply in my world. 
Permalink Reply by Valerie Duncan Stewart on October 9, 2011 at 2:33am

Liane,

I agree with the replies that suggest you should wait for an offer and take it from there. 

An added problem to keep a look out for is the HAFA being denied should the property receive a scheduled sheriff sale date.

I don't know if this is a loop hole the lenders have found, but after I had an offer that met their cash requirement, they spent over a month reviewing the offer and in that time a sheriff sale was scheduled. Their "new" policy states that no home will be HAFA eligible if is has a sherif sale date scheduled. Guess it didn't matter that the offer was submitted well before the sheriff sale was scheduled. 

 

Permalink Reply by Kevin - Greenville, SC on October 9, 2011 at 6:25am

From the 'horses' mouth at the Treasury Dept.  I'm unclear if this applies to GSE Loans as well. 

 

Laurie A. Maggiano
Director of Policy
Homeownership Preservation Office                                                          
Department of the Treasury

 


> Please let me introduce myself,  I am the Director of Policy for the Making
> Home Affordable (MHA) Program at the US Treasury.  Recently HAFA policy was
> updated to include the following requirement, which can be found in Chapter
> IV, Section 3 of the MHA Handbook (last paragraph):****
>
> ** **
>
> *"Unless prohibited by investor guidelines, servicers should utilize HAFA,
> rather than a proprietary short sale or DIL option, in all cases where a
> short sale or DIL is approved by the servicer and the transaction otherwise
> meets the guidance provided in this Chapter." *
>
> ** **
>
> While Wells was perfectly correct in denying a borrower who failed to
> submit required documentation or would not allow a BPO to be performed, if
> Wells is willing to consider any short sale option for this borrower, they
> should consider HAFA first.****

 

Permalink Reply by Kevin - Greenville, SC on October 9, 2011 at 6:26am

It is my understanding HAFA is voluntary like the Military is voluntary.  You don't have to sign up, but once you do, you're obligated to do as the rules specify.

Permalink Reply by joe beauchamp on October 10, 2011 at 5:26am

If this is BOA, well, good luck with HAFA, in general.  However, the BOA SS reps tend to be very helpful.  You have HAFA and HAFA w/o offer.  FNMA no longer does HAFA but does HAFA w/o offer.  Obviously, whoever you talked to was only talking about HAFA w/offer.  It is the investor who decides if they will participate in HAFA - and, I suppose, which programs.

My tact has been that when I get the absurd HAFA counter from LRC/UTLS and the buyer walks, I then submit it for HAFA w/o offer to AMS (or PROMMIS) in the hopes that it is keeping something alive and maybe something will come out of it.  So far, nothing has successfully come out of AMS for me.  But, since there is no offer yet, I don't see why the file should not be at AMS/PROMMIS.  If an offer comes in, I can give it to AMS.  If they reject it, we can pull the short sale and submit it as HAFA w/offer (unless FNMA) or a regular short sale.  I don't see the HAFA w/o offer as being in the way.  I initially hoped to see success since this w/o offer program has to snag a buyer so I could sit back and watch the bank try to get a buyer using their absurd numbers.  Hasn't happened yet for me - sellers give up before then - so far.  (It also appears that BOA's end game is to keep the account for the 120 day program and then get to keep the account by offering the homeowner a Deed-in-Lieu.  So, I no longer have high hopes for BOA's HAFA w/o offer program.)

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