Lesson learned regarding HAFA and B of A
Although we have done and successfully closed MANY short sales we will admit its ALWAYS a learning experience as the processes continue to change and new programs role out.....
Recently my partner and I were working a short sale with B of A thru equator. Long story short we had it approved and the first buyer walked away. We quickly got it back under contract. The 2nd time around, after inputing all documentation in equator (initiating the short sale and uploading all documents under the library tab) we called the main line to confirm we were on track. The representative stated the homeowner needed to call in to process the short sale further, which from our experience was rather normal. The seller called in and discussed the short sale. Unbeknownst to us the B of A representative suggested to the seller to try and do the HAFA. The seller told us of this and we said ok but was not sure if they would qualify.
In the end what happened was the seller did NOT qualify and the banks suggestion to do HAFA was strictly without them pre-qualifying them to meet HAFA's requirements. In this situation the seller hadn't lived in the property for 12 months exactly, which is one of the main requirements (must have resided in the home the past 12 months).
Lesson learned, which is when your clients call in make sure you see if they qualify for HAFA because B of A will NOT go thru the program in detail with the seller and also won't advise them on if they qualify. So its our duty to understand each and every process and qualification for HAFA.
In the end we had to have the HAFA file declined in equator so we could initiate a traditional short sale on equator.
So for some reason there two departments don't speak to each other, so we had to put everything back in and start over.
Just wanted to share so you also don't get into the same situation of trusting that the B of A representatives are educated enough to advise our clients on HAFA.
Good luck!
Brett Hultberg and Doug Emerick
B & D Real Estate Group
480-510-8941 or 602-790-4963
Comment
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Comment by Brett Hultberg on June 30, 2011 at 2:52pm
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Thanks everyone for responding and giving their experiences. Just on Tuesday my business partner and I took an extensive class regarding HAFA. Sadly so, the instructor, who is very well versed and used to be high up with B of A, was/is not a big fan of the program. In 2010 in the US there were only about 650 homeowners who were able to complete the HAFA program.........likely out of Ten's of Thousands that tried. Those statistics say it all. One good option, depending on the loan type is the the FHA-PFS program, which allows for a seller credit at COE as well. Google it and check out the requirements etc. versus the HAFA guidelines. In fact many agents out there have probably completed a PSA short sale without knowing it. You are not required to do any additional paperwork for the program until after submitting the offer to the bank, where as HAFA the seller must fill out the HAMP/HAFA up front prior to listing. This program pays up to $1000 vs. $3000 for HAFA but the chances of it actually being approved for the program are MUCH higher. We recently did two and they were fairly easy to navigate thru plus they have quicker response times. In addition the bank doesn't set the pre-approved price... you do. Its always unsettling when you have someone who may not know the area that well who may decide the value. This way you have more control. Anyways, definitely worth looking into on the HUD website.
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Comment by MARY HOOD on June 29, 2011 at 7:46pm
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Just went through this basic scenario today! It took hours upon hours to finally get the HAFA declined so I could commence to submit a traditional short sale offer into the Equator system. I registered my client prior to obtaining an offer --- beginning was fine until I obtained the offer and requested "Task" to submit the offer. Up blinks a warning that the client was eligible for HAFA and needed to contact the famous 866 ----- number. My client was on the phone for several hours with a HAFA rep only to be told he did not qualify and, of course, not informed that he had to personally cancel HAFA before we could proceed further. This is one serious short sale experience learned the hard way -- no book to go by on this. Different answers from different people working in the same section was shocking -- who do I believe, what do I believe? How can we best serve our clients when those working in the same department are not in sync with the system. Thank you for sharing and stressing that we need to be informed.
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Comment by Christina Conrad on June 29, 2011 at 7:36am
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Been there done that with a f/c pending and lost the home....
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Thanks Nancy for the post! I can also relate to your experience as it seems every time you contact the main line to a major bank you get a different answer. After 4-5 calls by my business partner and I we finally got it worked out, although starting over is no fun.......after losing 5 weeks of processing time.
Take care Nancy!
Brett
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Comment by Nancy Fung Martin on June 26, 2011 at 3:54pm
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Brett,
Same thing happened to my Seller. It went on for 3 months, yes HAFA, no HAFA, yes HAFA. Finally I had to contact the VP office of BofA to get it straighted out. The file was opened and closed 5 times and trasferred to UTLS, RMA, BofA so it was a mess. They finally closed all the files and I had to start over and no he did not qualify for HAFA.
Thanks for your story.
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