Blog Home > Industry
On April 2, Bank of America announced the latest round of changes to their short sale process. The changes, aimed at streamlining and expediting the process, include new requirements for initiating a short sale and changes to Equator. Beginning April 13, 2012, Bank of America will require the following five forms to be submitted to [...]
ATTENTION Agents! In October’s CDPE Industry Broadcast with Bob Hora, SVP Mortgage Servicing Executive at Bank of America Home Loans, Hora affirmed Bank of America’s commitment to streamlining their short sale process. In keeping with this commitment, Bank of America is simplifying their third-party authorization process for short sales. On March 20, Bank of America [...]
Major news in the short sale and housing industry! On Friday, March 9, the Obama Administration announced updates to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program. Created in 2009, HAFA is a government-sponsored initiative assisting all Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) eligible homeowners in avoiding foreclosure through short sales and deed-in-lieus. The HAFA updates will [...]
For awhile now, we’ve instructed agents on government incentives available to distressed homeowners who opt to do short sales. Such programs include the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program, which provides up to $3,000 to assist the borrower with relocation fees. In recent news, major publications including USA TODAY and CNNMoney have spotlighted the incentives [...]
Yesterday, the Justice Department and 49 out of 50 state Attorneys General announced a settlement agreement with 5 of the nation’s largest banks in the Robo-signing and Mortgage Service Fraud scandal that first came to light in late 2010. The settlement, worth $25 billion dollars, was the largest government negotiated industry settlement since the Tobacco [...]
There’s both good news and bad news on the foreclosure front. The good news? According to RealtyTrac’s Year-End 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, total U.S. foreclosure activity and the foreclosure rate were both at their lowest annual level since 2007. The bad news? Foreclosure levels were artificially lowered due to delays following the robo-signing scandal. [...]
Fannie Mae revealed its new Unemployment Forbearance Program, which mortgage servicers are required to implement by March 1 for all Fannie Mae-owned and backed loans. Servicers can now provide up to six months of relief for eligible unemployed borrowers without Fannie’s review and approval. Borrowers may also apply for an additional six months of forbearance, [...]
Effective Feb. 1, Freddie Mac is giving mortgage servicers expanded authority to provide six months of forbearance to unemployed mortgage holders without prior approval, and an additional six months (12 months total) with prior approval. This new policy essentially doubles the previously offered forbearance period. It’s important to note: This applies to Freddie Mac-owned or [...]
In an effort to shorten overall cycle times, Bank of America has reduced the window for submitting a backup offer on a short sale from 14 days to eight days after the initial offer becomes invalid. Once a backup offer becomes necessary: Contact your short sale specialist immediately to let him or her know you [...]
On Thursday, Veros Real Estate Solutions released its VeroFORECAST real estate market forecast for the 12-month period ending Dec. 1, 2012. Their findings indicate “the national housing recovery will continue to be gradual and slow without any significant changes in markets.” Veros predicts up to four percent appreciation in the strongest markets, including Fargo and [...]
On Dec. 21, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released its latest report, which shows delinquencies remained elevated during the third quarter of 2011. The number of new foreclosures increased by 21 percent during the quarter, partly due to servicers lifting the voluntary “foreclosure freeze” implemented in late 2010 as a result of [...]
The holiday season should be a magical time of year. However, for a growing number of families, the usual holiday celebrations are trumped by financial troubles, foreclosure and the looming threat of eviction. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered some relief to such families by announcing an “Eviction Moratorium” through January 2, 2012. During this [...]
In an effort to reduce cycle time and improve customer service, Bank of America (BOA) announced several changes to their Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) short sale process, which agents should be aware of. Highlights include: When a short sale is submitted with an offer and the homeowner is HAFA eligible, BOA will no longer [...]
Recently, CDPE author and Charfen Institute CEO Alex Charfen hosted an exclusive broadcast with Bob Hora, Senior Vice President of Mortgage Servicing at Bank of America Home Loans. Bob Hora provided insight into Bank of America’s evolving approach to managing their distressed mortgage portfolio, which includes plans to increase short sales by as much as [...]
Our CEO Alex Charfen is quoted in a recent New York Post article on the growing popularity of short sales as a viable option for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. The article references major lenders—including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo—that are offering cash incentives at closing for distressed homeowners who [...]
Enter Email to Subscribe to RSS Feed
