HAFA Short Sale Programs Up and Running

The HAFA Short Sale Program became mandatory for all non-GSE service providers participating in the HAMP Short Sale Program on April 5, 2010.  According to a report on July 26, 2010, many service providers were slow to implement the program.

On August 2, 2010, new programs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became mandatory for all service providers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.  This new change did not affect the guidelines that were issued on June 1, 2010.  As-of-date, all three HAFA programs are fully in effect and fully operational. 

There are some differences between each of the programs that are important for agents to understand that affect requirements ranging from real estate commissions to borrower eligibility.  You can find a chart that outlines many of the differences here.

Now that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae HAFA programs are in effect, the eight largest service providers in the country now control the vast majority of homeowner loans in the country and have made HAFA a significant part of the short sale arena.  The eight service providers offering the HAFA program include the following:

* America Home Mortgage Servicing

* Bank of America

* CitiMortgage

* GMAC Mortgage

* JP Morgan Chase Bank

* Litton Loan Servicing

* One West Bank

* Wells Fargo Bank

If any real estate listings involve one of these service providers, you can rest assured that they have an HAFA program already in place.  There are other non-GSE service providers and lenders who are participating in the HAMP program too.  You can find a list of these service providers and lenders here.