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Rock Realty Client Testimonials

"We found Mike online, and, due to positive reviews, phoned him with a request to view houses in the Madison area. We gave Mike no more than one or two days notice, but he was happy to devote the whole of his weekend to us. Our entire house-hunting experience proceeded in similar fashion. We were hunting for houses long distance, so we would wait until an opportunity to travel to Madison presented itself, phone Mike, giving him one or two days to prepare, and show up to view houses. The process took roughly one year to complete. It was long and difficult, but Mike was always pleasant, never complained, made an effort to make himself immediately available, and was never pushy.

Mike is not like many real estate agents who simply want to make a sale, any sale. Instead, Mike made an effort to help us make an honest assessment of the properties we viewed, often pointing out problems himself. Mike left us with no doubt of his honesty and his dedication to his clients.

In addition, since we were shopping long-distance, Mike, with some help from his associate Bethany (who we found to be similarly pleasant and eager to be of service), even took hundreds of high definition photos of properties which he viewed in our stead, often with only a single day's notice. Mike, or one of his associates, would then promptly email the photos to us to view.

During the house-hunting process we changed our minds a number of times, imposed last minute requests, and even had some near melt-downs, but, through it all, Mike was responsive, cheerful, and level-headed. We cannot overstate how hard Mike worked on our behalf. We highly recommend him to any home buyers."

Graham S. & Janet H. (Middleton, Wisconsin 53562)
Rock Realty Home Buyer Client

Thanks for the compliments, and Congratulations on your new home Graham & Janet!

Looking to purchase a home in Wisconsin?? Contact Rock Realty! We would love to help!!

Too often, many homeowners doing a short sale read up on the internet and speak to friends, coworkers, relatives and anyone else whose done a short sale, about how they received $3000 relocation assistance by doing a HAFA short sale.

Sadly...this is NOT always the case. Simply going into the HAFA short sale program here in CA does NOT guarantee you will walk away with money.

Case in point.....First your realtor needs to determine if your servicer(the one you normally make or made your mortgage payments to for your 1st lien)participates in the HAFA program. Many servicers DO NOT!.

Also, even if your servicer(1st mortgage lienholder) participates in HAFA, the INVESTOR who is above your servicer and has final say so...may NOT be a HAFA participant.

Many 1st mortgage liens are SOLD to a private investor or group of investors that DO NOT belong to HAFA, nor do they have to abide by HAFA's guidelines and rules. 

OK, so let's say your 1st lien holder and their investor DO participate in HAFA and allow you to do a HAFA short sale.

If you have a 2nd lien, you need to also find out if THEY participate in HAFA...for if they DON'T...then guess what may happen when you go to close? Your 2nd lien holder could see the $3000 monies awarded to the seller(YOU) by the 1st lienholder and decide to GRAB or TAKE any monies on the table. Thereby preventing YOU, the homeowner from getting ANY MONIES awarded to you. Don't say NO...because I've seen it done.

Also...here's the kicker....and even better than the above. Let's say..Mr and Mrs Seller had a 1st and a 2nd on their home, and the 1st even agrees to a HAFA short sale, and so does their investor.And let's say your 2nd lien servicer WAS a participant in HAFA and agreed to participate. *  If your 2nd in this process gets SOLD OFF or CHARGED OFF during this process to a collection co. for x amount of months of NON PAYMENT on your part, then that COLLECTION co is NOT HELD to HAFA's rules and can collect the relocation monies at funding. The collection companies ARE NOT SERVICERS...and therefore they DO NOT belong or partipate in HAFA's rules or programs...so  since they are a collection company..they can TAKE the monies left on the table. Remember people...they are a COLLECTION company...they don't call them a collection company for nothing!!!!

Remember the 2nd lien holder, whether it be a servicer or now a collection co...has begrudgingly accepted what the 1st will give them, and they are NOT happy.

Please make sure when doing a short sale that you interview an agent who has done them extensively and has much experience in negotiating short sales. Please don't assume EVER that because an agent has these CDPE or SFR designations...that they KNOW or are VERSED in NEGOTIATING short sales. These companies handing out designations are PRIVATE COMPANIES charging realtors a $500 or more fee to take a 1 day or sometimes just a several hour course in short sales. THIS DOES NOT mean your realtor knows in the slightest how to navigate and negotiate the slippery slope of short sales. Many of these realtors who have gotten their licenses not that long ago or get these designations because they know that 50% of the market is upside down and if they want ANY business, they better get with the program and start handling short sales.

I am not knocking these designations....there are agents who have them and legally have experience and know how to handle short sales... the main thing is to check for experience in how many short sales they have done...and if they have DONE it themselves. Farming it out to 3rd party negotiators or attorneys, does NOT guarantee success.

Please ask many questions about the short sale process and scenarios. There is no magic wand that anyone can wave to make sure your short sale goes smoothly, for many things occur as roadblocks to navigate along the way. But with a strong negotiating agent who is familiar with all the ins and outs and possible scenarios that the banks, lenders, servicers, investors,and collection agencies throw our way....hopefully having this extensive knowledge and experience can help you obtain a successful outcome.

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*