The Agent Insider Blog

Supplemental Directive 11-08 Contains Important New Policy Changes for HAFA Effective Immediately! On August 9, 2011, the Treasury Department issued Supplemental Directive 11-08 for its HAFA program. The new policy changes and clarifications of previous HAFA policies are as follows: Borrowers are currently provided with a 14-day period to respond to a servicer’s invitation to [...]

Federal Trade Commission M.A.R.S. Rule Requires New Disclosures From Real Estate Agents Who Negotiate Short Sales For Consumer Borrowers. The FTC Rule Took Effect on January 31, 2011 and Real Estate Agents Are Subject to Substantial Fines and Penalties For Transactions Without the Mandatory Disclosures. Most real estate agents are not aware of the new [...]

VIDEO: at end of post At the end of 2010, the United States Treasury Department in Supplemental Directive 10-18, amended the HAFA short sale rules and policies for non-GSE servicers and lenders. The effective date for the new HAFA amendments was February 1, 2011. All real estate agents who work with HAFA short sales need [...]

The Wall Street Journal just released an article where I discuss ‘The Short Sale Alternative’ in light of the foreclosure turmoil the real estate market finds itself in. The short sale market is poised to explode as investors and buyers begin to shy away from already foreclosed properties and banks look to limit their exposure [...]

In an interesting development Wells Fargo has stopped granting extensions for distressed homeowners to complete short sales, a move that will expedite foreclosures. From the article: “Mary Berg, a spokeswoman for Wells, said its new policy on short sales was put in place “over the past couple of months . in response to various investor [...]

In an effort to help agents and streamline the HAFA short sale process, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have posted new information and resources online for real estate agents.

On April 5, 2010, the HAFA program became mandatory for all for non-GSE (non-Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans) servicers participating in the HAMP program. According to the Making Home Affordable Program Servicer Performance Report issued on July 26, 2010, although some of the servicers were slow to implement the program, as of the end [...]