Yes, There Are HAFA Short Sale Success Stories

During the holidays, we often reflect upon the year in terms of the goals we didn’t achieve or where we fell short. This holiday season we ask that you focus on the positive instead. Despite setbacks and challenges, there is much to be thankful for.

Take the following story for instance. It was sent to us by CDPE Steve Gillespie of Keller Williams Realty at the Lakes in Celebration, Florida, and represents the determination to succeed against the odds of getting HAFA short sale approval. We hope the story inspires you this holiday season as much as it has all of us at the Distressed Property Institute:

An 80 year-old semi-retired professional and his 60 year-old wife were $400,000 underwater in their mortgage. He had heart surgery last year and she has MD (muscular dystrophy), so neither can work very much. They were in foreclosure and facing bankruptcy to escape, especially with a 2nd mortgage as part of their debt.

Litton Loan Servicing ignored the borrower’s first 2 requests for HAFA review. I then made the request for him, copying HAMP Escalations, and we received a phone call the next day with assurance that the SSA was on the way. It arrived the day after.

Litton gave us a list price right away, even before they did their BPO. We provided the packet up front, but they then mishandled the data for over 3 months causing significant delay. We actually had a full-price offer 2 days after the SSA was issued. However, by the time we got Litton’s final approval, we lost that buyer. Then, we found another buyer who will close the end of December. That buyer offered $10,000 less than list, and Litton accepted.

Settling with the 2nd was a significant challenge. The buyer had to use some protected assets and provide a partial payment before closing, and the 2nd was then willing to issue a clean settlement letter agreeing to take just the $6,000 provided by HAFA at the close and waive any further deficiency. When we actually got the final settlement letter from the primary lender (more than 4 months after we started), it felt like we had given birth to triplets!

The seller gushed in his thanks, and (at 82 years of age) said, in sort of a reverent whisper: “Now I can rebuild my credit.”

How devastating to be 82 and facing a financial hurdle you expect to carry with you to your grave. But how great the relief to be given the help to overcome, and know you can still recover. He very much wanted to leave his wife in a better financial position, and now has the hope and opportunity to make that happen. So cool!

We agree Steve … so cool!

Happy Thanksgiving!