subject: Have Homeowner Explore Loan Modification Before Short Sale - Short Sale Success [print this page] Have Homeowner Explore Loan Modification Before Short Sale - Short Sale Success
A home is not only a financial asset to a seller, but also a place of memories, emotional connections, and sense of identity. The decision to sell one's home involves more than just a simple financial analysis. The decision may begin with a financial motivation to sell, but will eventually include the involvement the emotional acceptance of letting go of one's home and establishing one elsewhere.
The government has introduced the "Home Affordable Mortgage Program" (HAMP) in order to help homeowners avoid foreclosure with loan modification. The purpose of the loan modification is to provide an avenue for the homeowner to have the terms of a loan to be re-negotiated to produce lower more affordable mortgage payment. Lenders, such as Chase, have opened up local offices to process loan modification applications. In addition, there has been a emergence of third party companies are selling their loan modification services to homeowners in distress.
The question we must ask any prospective client who wishes to sell their home in a short sale is "Have you already tried to do a loan modification?" They may have already applied and were rejected. They may have qualified for a loan modification, and were unable to keep up with the terms of the modified loan, and have again fallen into default. By going through the loan modification process, they would have come to the conclusion that a loan modification isn't possible, or that they are still unable to afford the lower monthly payments. They are able start to emotionally process letting go of the home, and fully cooperate with you in providing all of the documents required for the short sale application.
The scenario we are trying to avoid is the seller's changing their decision to sell the home, after you've started the short sale process, found a buyer, and sent in a short sale application to the lienholders. There have been instances where an unethical third party company convinces the homeowner that they are able to save their home, resulting in the cancellation of the purchase contract. Many of these third party companies are under investigation because they have charged an up-front fee, and have disappeared once these fees have been paid. If the homeowners have already explored a loan modification, especially through a legitimate government or lender program, they will be less likely to fall prey to the marketing pitches of unethical third party companies.
The government has expanded the HAMP program to assist homeowners who are trying to sell their home through a short sale. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program can be used by homeowners who successfully received a loan modification through HAMP, but are not able to make the modified loan payments.
Look out for our future blogs/articles from our Short Sale Leadership Series content. To view our blog updates, visit www.whbsolutions.com/blog
