Our office regularly consults with clients who are interested in selling their Riverside homes that are worth less than they owe on their loan. This process is called a short sale and requires lender approval before a bank will release their secured interest in your property. In order to encourage short sales, the government has introduced a few programs to make short sales more attractive.
HAFA is the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, which is designed to help homeowners who are not able to afford their mortgage payment anymore. HAFA provides help through two options, which is through a short sale or a deed- in-lieu. A short sale is when you sell your home due to the fact that your mortgage is much higher than what you home value is. Deed-in-lieu is when the mortgage company takes the home away from the homeowner. The money available for homeowners when they agree to do a short sale are that they get compensated for moving expenses and protection from collection actions by lenders. One of the most important parts is knowing who your lender is, knowing allows you to know whether you qualify for the HAFA program.
The way in which the money works is that the borrowers are able to receive a sum of money to help in the relocation to another location; it could mean another apartment or even another city at the end of the short sale. Lenders must allow the opportunity for the borrower to attempt a short sale. The way in which borrowers might qualified for the HAFA is that; the borrower’s property is where the borrower actually resides at, First mortgage receive would have to be before January 2009, the mortgage unpaid balance must not be greater than more than $729,750, the borrower’s total monthly mortgage must be greater than 31% of their gross income. They also cannot be convicted with any charges within the last 10 years of felony charges, theft, fraud, money laundering and many more and they must also show that they are having financial hardship.
If you or someone you know is interested in a short sale, contact our office immediately for a free consultation on their legal options and repercussions of a short sale.