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Understanding a short sale approval letter is a critical skill for a real estate agent, homeowner selling on a short sale, investor buying on a short sale, and anyone affected by a particular short sale transaction.

Most banks approving short sales are national.  This means they have loans in most states.  However, they often have legal council for the states they have loans in.  Because of this, often they will adjust their short sale approvals based on what works on the state were the property collateral to the loan is located.

This subject can get real technical.  That would be outside the scope of this blog post.  Lets focus on what the person selling on a short sale (homeowner) really want as first choice.  That is to not owe after the short sale. 

Just to not miss any components, there are three important concepts to understand.  Here I am simplifying to the maximum.

• Short Payoff:  The bank gets paid less than the total present value of the loan balance and releases its interest on the property.  So the property is no longer collateral.
• Release of Lien:  A type of short payoff in which, the shortfall between what is owed to the bank and obtained from the sale, is still owed by the homeowner.   Basically the homeowner still owes to the bank
• Short Sale:  A type of short payoff in which the homeowner does not owe anything to the bank after the property is sold. 

Needless to say, all homeowners want a short sale.  The question now is to know what is that the short sale letter actually means behind all that legalese wording.

How to Distinguish a Short Sale Approval Letter:

A short sale approval will always clearly state that the loan will be satisfied in full for less than the amount owed or very similar wording.  See sample below.

How to Distinguish a Release of Lien:

A release of lien letter will always indicate that the lien will be released but the debt will not be satisfied in full.  In addition, most likely, the homeowner will have to sign a promissory note at closing.

Oscar Morante
Ph:  971-222-3734
Fax: 866-844-7009
PDX Experts Real Estate, LLC
www.PDXExperts.com
534 SW 3rd Avenue
Suite 305
Portland, OR 97204

Real Estate Agent
Realtor

To settle for a foreclosure means accepting the damage to your credit a foreclosure would bring. It also means accepting the fact that in many states, the lender will seek a deficiency judgment in the amount that is owed. A short sale by itself will typically lower your credit score by 50-120 points, however the hardest hit on your credit will be from missed mortgage payments, not the short sale itself. Your credit will usually recover from a short sale in as little as two years, whereas a foreclosure could dampen your ability to take out any future mortgage loans for at least five years

The National Association of Realtors and the U.S. Department of the Treasury are collaborating to help Realtors better assist distressed homeowners who are struggling to Selling Your Home Through a Short Sale - Avoid Foreclosure.

Realtors who attend upcoming Making Home Affordable "Help for Homeowners" outreach events, sponsored by the Treasury Department, will learn insights to help them navigate the short sale process and have the opportunity to meet directly with loan servicers on their clients’ behalf for assistance with difficult transactions, according to a statement.

"As the nation’s leading advocate for homeownership and housing issues, Realtors are working hard to keep more people in their homes, and when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home, Realtors specializing in short sales, short sale specialists are there to help homeowners by facilitating a loan modification or short sale," said NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Assoc. inc. in Miami.

"Help for Homeowners" community events will take place throughout the year; the first sessions are in Miami today and Tampa, Fla. on Feb. 24. Additional events are scheduled in Chicago, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, Calif.

The sessions for real estate professionals are not open to homeowners, but borrowers who are in financial distress and concerned about losing their home to foreclosure are encouraged to attend the free homeowner sessions. Homeowners who are having difficulty paying their mortgage will be able to meet one-on-one with loan servicers and housing counselors to explore foreclosure prevention options and work toward solutions to their mortgage problems. Real estate professionals are encouraged to invite homeowners and their clients to the events and are welcome to accompany their clients in conversations with the servicers.

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in;  Bexley  Columbus  Delaware  Downtown  Dublin  Gahanna  Grandview Heights  Granville  Grove City  Groveport  Hilliard  Lewis Center  New Albany  Pickerington  Polaris  Powell   Upper Arlington  Westerville  Worthington

Bank of America is making a process change that will reduce the processing time and improve customer service for HAFA Short Sales (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program) that are submitted with an offer.

The proposed change goes into effect Dec. 1, 2011, and impacts all short sales submitted with an offer in which the homeowner is eligible for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program.

When a short sale is submitted with an offer and the homeowner is HAFA eligible, we will no longer halt work on the file while waiting to contact the homeowner. HAFA eligible homeowners are no longer required to call our Short Sale Customer Care to indicate whether they will participate in the program.

Instead, real estate agents specializing in short sales can indicate a homeowner's HAFA interest by submitting the necessary documents to Equator within 14 days. During that 14-day window, the short sale will continue moving forward. By the end of the 14 days, if we have not received the requested HAFA documents, we will continue to process the file as a traditional short sale.

This change is being made because we are transitioning the processing of all HAFA short sales with an offer from our outsourced vendor partners to Bank of America associates. A Bank of America specialist will be able to seamlessly transition a file from our traditional process to the HAFA process, thus improving customer service and the borrower and agent experiences. Homeowner's and agents should be aware that Bank of America's outsourced vendor partners will, however, continue to process all short sales submitted without an offer.

Action required:  

Short sales initiated on Equator.com that receive a HAFA eligibility message no longer require homeowners to call Customer Care to confirm their interest.

-  If homeowners wish to participate in HAFA, agents must submit the requested documents within 14 days.  (Note: the 14-day period begins the day the HAFA solicitation letter is mailed to the homeowner. Agents can obtain the date of the letter from homeowner.) 

-  If you are unclear about which documents to submit, contact your short sale specialist via Equator messaging. 

Additional Recommendations:

Homeowners interested in understanding the benefits a HAFA short sale, including the $3,000 relocation incentive at closing are encouraged to review HAFA Program or the HAFA education guide to learn more.

Bank of America also has put together a HAFA Eligibility FAQ for interested homeowners