Foreclosures And Short Sales

Washington, DC – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop enhanced and aligned strategies for facilitating short sales, deeds-in- lieu and deeds-for-lease in order to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure. The effort will come in stages with the first taking place this June. The new, aligned timelines include the requirement that mortgage servicers review and respond to requests for short sales within 30 calendar days from receipt of a short sale offer.

We have all heard the term "short sales" yet oddly enough there's typically nothing short about them, at least as far as time is concerned. That may soon be changing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nations two largest mortgage backers will implement some changes come June 15th 2012. The changes require mortgage servicers to make a decision within 30 days of receiving a short sale offer vs the typical 90 - 120 days they take now.

With nearly half the homes in Minnesota being sold as either short sales or foreclosures theres no doubt Minnesota Short Sales will be here to stay for some time yet.

Is a short sale right for you and what is it? A short sale occurs when your property is sold for less than what is owed on it. Due to the housing decline you may owe $200,000 on your Minnesota home for example but the property may only be worth $150,000 in todays market, this is where a short sale may be useful to you.

Heading to foreclosure?  A short sale may be a perfect fit for you.  Take a look at our short sale video which explains, in summary, how a short sale works.

If you still have any questions about short sales feel free to contact me at 612-282-7653

It wasn't to many years ago that the words "short sale" were not a household term, well times sure have changed.  The short sale process has become popular all over the country, here in the Minneapolis Real Estate market where I work we had 802 lender owned (bank owned) pending sales in January 2011 and 358 short sales went pending same month which is up 11.9% from the same month last year.

Attorney General Lori Swanson along with six other state regulators are looking into allegations that some large lending institutions let employees routinely sign off on foreclosure affidavits without actually reviewing them or verifying accuracy.

Last week, Bank of America, Chase and GMAC Mortgage halted foreclosures in 23 states but Minnesota was not included.

Up to now, many short sales -- in which the lender accepts a sale of the property for less than the full amount owed -- have taken months to complete. Sometimes, the complex and lengthy process has failed, resulting in foreclosure.

HAFA establishes streamlined short sale rules and incentivizes borrowers and lenders to work together to avoid foreclosure. The rules -- in effect between April 5, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2012 -- also are intended to speed up the short sale process.

Are you "sdrawkcab" in your mortgage? Being backwards or upside-down in a mortgage is a simple reality in today's market for many people.

With the boom, high risk loans and weakly founded appraisals at an end coupled with the economy many homeowners are in the same boat looking at negative equity. If you're not going to sell this may not be a big deal as the market will return but if you're looking to sell or simply can not afford that adjustable mortgage you may need to look at a short sale.

Are you an agent looking to do a short sale or in the middle of one now? Or are you a seller looking to do a short sale on your property? No matter the case the short sale process can be done although difficult at times but it can also go as smooth as to be expected when the proper steps are taken.

At times with short sales it feels like you have hit a brick wall and there is simply no way through, they are not always the fastest and frustration can set in but don't let it; they do close.

You know things are popular when they make the Simpson's. When cartoon land can be hit with a foreclosure it can happen to anyone, but what do you do?