New Treasury Dept SS Rules/Guidelines?

[Liam Ferris]

I just came across an article from the Washington Post talking about new "rules" for short sales from the Treasury Department. They sound like they really could be positive or negative for investors and for homeowners.

I'm a little confused though, because the title of the article calls them "guidelines," but the article calls them "rules."

Any thoughts on these would be appreciated. Are they really rules, or just guidelines? Are they going to help homeowners? What about investors? I would argue that making short sales easier for investors will directly benefit distressed homeowners, and I'm not sure if these new rules are going to help anyone.

Thoughts or ideas?

[Scott Hubbard]

Sellers must be unqualified for a loan modification under the Home Affordable Mortgage Program or be unable to afford the modification.

The program has seriously failed in its goals set forth by the Obama administration. Their approvals have been very slow and few. The success rates are deplorable.

Lenders must approve or deny a purchase offer within 10 days of it being submitted.

I believe the 10 days is unrealistic especially since many of the existing service agreements call for investor approval. I have been awaiting on a Fannie Mae decision for 3 weeks now.

In my opinion, this is a political pipe dream at best and the President's administration continues to show how really out of touch they are when they set-forth these goals.