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If you receive a letter from Chase Bank stating that you are eligible for a short sale incentive, please do not throw it away. It is not a scam. Distressed home owners have been receiving these letters for over a year now, and guess what? They are the real deal!


Real estate agents and Realtors® have been reporting that their clients are getting large checks cut to them at closing. In some cases, as much as $30,000! Yes, Chase Bank is not only forgiving the debt on a short sale, they are giving the current sellers/owners a check at closing. Don't believe it? See an example letter below:


My name is Michael Collins. If you are currently considering a short sale in Wisconsin, I would be happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. I am certified as a Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource through the WRA. REALTORS® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities. The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk. Call my cell at 608-921-8536 and we can see if you qualify for any of these incentives.


Original Post -
Chase Bank Short Sale Seller Incentive


Additional Short Sale Information


• 

• Is a Short Sale right for my home?
• 

• Half of Homeowners Underwater on their Mortgage
• 

• Buying a Wisconsin home after a Short Sale or Foreclosure
• 

• Benefits of Buying an Owner-Occupied Wisconsin Short Sale
• 

• Tips for Buying a Wisconsin Short Sale

Many homeowners who are having trouble paying their mortgages will stop opening their mail from the lender. It is understandable to feel, what is the point? I can't pay and nothing they say to me will change that. However, if your lender is Chase you may want to open that letter.

Chase is giving relocation assistance to some homeowners who are in default if they agree to short sell their home. The incentives can be anywhere from $2500 to $45,000. Not everyone will get this incentive, and there is no uniform way that these incentives will be offered. In other words, Chase is not saying why one borrower gets an incentive and another does not.

So if you get a letter from Chase, open it up. It may say you have won the lottery. You will need to find an experienced Sunnyvale short sale agent to help you sell your home, or Chase will give you the names of some who can help you. You then list your home as a short sale, accept an offer, have it approved by Chase, and at closing you get your relocation assistance.

It is a pretty good deal if you ask me, an experienced Sunnyvale Short Sale Agent.

If you have any questions about short sales in Santa Clara or San Mateo County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

D.R.E. 01191194

If you have a home loan through Bank of America and you are currently concerned about making your payments or your home is worth less than you owe, you may qualify for a short sale incentive from BoA. They refer to it as an 'enhanced relocation assistance payment'. To qualifying home owners/sellers, this could mean a check given to you for up to $30,000 after a successful short sale closing! Trust me, this is no scam. Here is a recent email that was sent to Bank of America Short Sale Specialists, like myself.

My name is Michael Collins, real estate agent and broker at Rock Realty. If you are currently considering a short sale in Wisconsin, I would be happy to walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. I am certified as a Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource through the WRA.

Realtors® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities. The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk. Call my cell at 608-921-8536 and we can see if you qualify for any of these incentives.

Also feel free to fill out our simple
Short Sale Home Evaluation Form

Additional Short Sale Information

• Is a Short Sale right for my home?
• Half of Homeowners Underwater on their Mortgage
• Buying a Wisconsin home after a Short Sale or Foreclosure
• Benefits of Buying an Owner-Occupied Wisconsin Short Sale
• Tips for Buying a Wisconsin Short Sale

5 Reasons to Consider a HAFA Short Sale

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program is a subset of the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAMP was designed to help homeowners restructure their loans with their existing lenders.  There is also a program calledHARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) under the same umbrella of federal programs, which is designed to help underwater homeowners refinance.  HAFA is the program which covers the short sale and deed in lieu options.

In order to enroll in HAFA, you must be eligible for HAMP. Being eligible does not mean you qualify for a HAMP loan modification, it just means you meet the threshold eligibility requirements for the program.  In order to enroll in HAFA, you must complete an RMA form (Request for Modification and Affidavit), and once it is determined that you are eligible for HAMP, you can elect to do a HAFA short sale rather than a HAMP loan modification.

The HAFA program offers important benefits to short sale sellers:

1. $3000 HAFA short sale seller relocation incentive. This HAFA short sale program benefit simply can’t be beat.  Three thousand dollars in your hand upon close of escrow.  For those in extreme financial distress, the $3000 can provide a deposit on a rental and much needed help with the expense of moving.

2.  HAFA Short Sale Agreement.  One of the other great benefits of HAFA is that you can apply for the program and know that you are approved for a HAFA short sale before you list your home for sale.  After you apply, the lender will order a valuation of the home and determine your eligibility for the program.  If approved, you will be issued a Short Sale Agreement (SSA) that will allow you 120 days to market the home and a pre-approved price.

3. Pre-Approved Pricing.  Before issuing the Short Sale Agreement, the bank will order a valuation of your home, either through a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) or an appraisal (to their credit, Bank of America uses appraisals instead of BPOs).  Once you have been approved for a HAFA short sale, you will receive a Short Sale Agreement which will have a pre-approved price that the bank will accept.  So, there is no guessing at that point about what the bank will take for the home.

4.  No foreclosure sale during HAFA marketing period. The HAFA program offers a guarantee of no foreclosure sale while you are in the 120 days marketing period. Many short sale sellers turn to a short sale as an option only after their efforts to modify their home loan have failed or produced a less than optimal result. Accordingly, they may already have a Notice of Default or Notice of Trustee’s Sale filed by the time they decide to pursue a short sale.  The HAFA short sale program offers the guarantee that the home will not be taken back in foreclosure during the 120 day marketing period.

5. Guaranteed waiver of deficiency from participating first mortgage lenders.  HAFA offers certain protections to short sale sellers, including a waiver of deficiency on the participating first mortgage.  Deficiency waivers from second mortgage holders must be negotiated under HAFA, it is not guaranteed.  However, recent changes in California law (Senate Bill 458), gives more protection to California residential short sale sellers regarding deficiency waivers than the HAFA program provides.

Before deciding whether to short sell your home, it is essential that you obtain legal and tax advice, and consult with an experienced local short sale agent. If you are considering a short sale of your Santa Maria, Orcutt, or Nipomo home and would like a no cost short sale consultation, please call my office to schedule a meeting or a telephone consultation at (805) 938-9950.

Tni LeBlanc is an independent Real Estate Broker, Attorney, and Short Sale Agent. She is a Certified HAFA Specialist (CHS) serving the Santa Maria, Orcutt and Five Cities area of the Central Coast of California.

* Nothing in this article is intended to solicit listings currently under contract with another broker. This article offers no legal or tax advice. Those considering a short sale are advised to consult with their own attorney for legal advice, and their tax professional for tax advice prior to entering into a short sale listing agreement.  Any and all  program benefits described are subject to change.

Copyright© 2012 Tni LeBlanc *5 Reasons to Consider a HAFA Short Sale*