Changes HAFA will offer to the Short Sale process

Will the changes in the Short Sale process really change? Critics are waiting to see how the first transaction goes.

HAFA begins April 5th and will offer tighter timelines for both homeowners and banks so that the short sale process does not drag on for months. But, there is no serious punishment for banks who don't comply only small financial incentives to particiapate if a transaction is successful. The lender receives $1,000 and the homeowner receives $1,500. Unfortunately, the strict homeowner eligibility requirements linked to HAMP (loan modification program) has not changed for HAFA. Second lien holders may reject the deals. HAFA offers them no more than $3,000 in sale proceeds, no matter the size of the loan.

The good news is that under HAFA the Lenders must notify borrowers up front what the minimum buyer offer they will accept. Yeah! No more price guessing games.

AAR offers a new Short Sale Advisory for Sellers
goto: http://kathleeninarizona.com/seller-advisory-f9783.html

Mortgage delinquencies update

We are still seeing record high mortgage delinquencies. Unfortunately, new delinquencies are outpacing loss mitigation efforts. The loans are still not being modified quick enough to keep loans from going bad. The number of new delinquencies since January 1, 2009, still exceeds the trial loan modificaitons number by 25 percent.

The Mortgage Monitor report today from the Lender Processing Services revealed that the numbers are really staggering.


Loans delinquent/in foreclosure process: 7.5 million
REO/Post-sale foreclosure: 1 million
Loans that were current 1/1/09 and 60+ days delinquent 1/1/10: 2.5 million

I find this to be the most interesting fact:

More than 31 percent of loans that have been delinquent for six months are not yet in foreclosure, while 22.8 percent of loans delinquent for 12 months have not been moved to foreclosure status (up from 9.0 percent in 2008).

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read more: http://www.kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=802

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HAFA program begins April 5th to help homeowners that don't succeed with HAMP

Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) effective April 5th
On November 30, 2009, the Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA). HAFA is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAFA provides incentives in connection with a short sale or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure (DIL) used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program. Servicers participating in HAMP are also required to comply with HAFA. A list of servicers participating in HAMP is available at MakingHomeAffordable.gov.


Read more:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=794

116,000 loan modifications successful so far, thousands more to go:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=793

Airzona Foreclosure Bills to help protect homeowners

Arizona Foreclosure bills to protect homeowners
Arizona Democrats have introduced legislation to tackle the state's foreclosure crisis and to protect homeowners.
• HB 2715 would give homeowners facing foreclosure another 60 days to work out a loan modification.
• HB 2740 calls for allowing renters in homes that are in foreclosure to stay in the house and continue to pay affordable rents, and for homeowners who lose homes to foreclosure to remain as renters.
• HB 2766 requires a landlord to give a renter at least 30 days' notice if they have to move out of a foreclosure home.
• HB 2321 requires homes be maintained during foreclosure.
• HB 2739 creates a mandatory mediation program for those facing foreclosure that would be supervised by the Arizona Supreme Court.

Tenants renting a property in Foreclosure can stay

Under federal law, a tenant is generally entitled to stay in the rented premises after a foreclosure sale until the term of the lease expires. The lender or third-party buyer at the foreclosure sale, however, has no obligation to refund the security deposit when lease expires.

Tenants ask an attorney:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=790

Professor says it is not immoral for underwater homeowners to walk away

Arizona law professor Brent White says the only thing standing between many "underwater" homeowners and a better financial future is a misguided sense that walking away from a loan commitment is morally wrong.
White, an associate professor at University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, has spent the past few months presenting his argument to other lawyers, real-estate professionals and the national media.
It started with a 50-page discussion paper he published in October, in which White argues that underwater homeowners, those whose unpaid loan balance exceeds the value of their home, are being manipulated into picking up the tab for a real-estate crash that borrowers and lenders created equally.
"I'm all for a society where people must take personal responsibility, but that should also apply to the banks and financial institutions" he said.

Article in the Arizona Republic
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=789

"Risky Loans" but not Fannie or Freddie have short sale guidelines yet

HOME AFFORDABLE FORECLOSURE ALTERNATIVE PROGRAM - HAFA

The new HAFA program applies to the large volume of so-called "risky" loans that were issued outside of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines during the housing boom, such as zero-down loans, option ARMs, and Alt-A mortgages that didn’t require extensive income documentation (see below, "Which Loans Are Eligible?"). As of this writing, Fannie and Freddie were developing their own, similar guidance for loans they’ve backed.

Read more:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=786

Which Loans Are Eligible?
The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Program provides short sales guidelines for loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (those agencies are expected to release their own, similar guidance). The following conditions also must be met:

The property is the borrower’s principal residence.
The mortgage loan is a first lien mortgage originated on or before Jan. 1, 2009.
The mortgage is delinquent or default is reasonably foreseeable.
The current unpaid principal balance is equal to or less than $729,750.
The borrower’s total monthly mortgage payment exceeds 31 percent of the borrower’s gross income.

Maricopa County Tax Lien Auction

Tax-lien timeline
Year 1
January: A lien for taxes is attached to the property even though the amount of taxes due will not be determined until the following fall. The county assessor notifies each property owner of the property's assessed value.
August-September: The county Board of Supervisors approves the property-tax rate, and residents receive their annual property-tax bill.
October: The first half of the property-tax bill is due.
Year 2
April: The second half of the Year 1 property tax is due.
December: The county treasurer compiles a list of all parcels with delinquent property taxes for publication.
Year 3
January: The Treasurer's Office publishes the list in a newspaper and on the Internet.
February: An online auction is held to sell the tax liens to investors. Bidders compete for the best annual interest rate, bidding down from 16 percent in whole-digit increments (1 percent, 2 percent, etc.) Any liens not sold to investors are "struck" to the state but can be purchased later for 16 percent interest.
Year 6
February: A lien investor can seek a judgment for foreclosure of the tax-delinquent parcel in court if the investor still has not been repaid with interest.
Year 13
February: If no foreclosure action has been initiated 10 years after the date of purchase, the lien is extinguished.
Source: "Arizona Property Tax Lien Primer" by attorney Mark Manoil.

Read article to see how to invest:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=784

Arizona Housing Recovery pushed back to 2014

Arizona has lost more than 210,000 jobs in the past 24 months, according to Elliott Pollack, a Scottsdale-based economist.
"It will be 2014 before we get back to 2007's employment level in the state," Pollack told the crowd at the Arizona Biltmore Resort.
He said that he expects metro Phoenix's housing market to start improving near the end of 2012 but that it won't be until 2014 when the area's supply of available houses and demand for those homes are back in balance.

Read entire article:
http://kathleeninarizona.com/archive_details.php?arch=783