Great information Rosemary!  Thanks for sharing!  There are so many posts now regarding foreclosure and short sales, it's really kinda sad!  Actually, it's very sad!!  The more we can help these people in the down times, the more it will help us in the "UP" times!!   B-)

Brad, hi and yes you are correct.  I was so happy to see the lender is stepping out a little and trying not to just be the hardball, don't care, won't approve lender and show that they are aware of the problem of people not having options or feeling that they don't have options when in pre-foreclosure/default status.

My clients whom I just met yesterday, were so appreciative that I was willing to do this service for them (at no pay) so that they will know what the lender is expecting and it does "soften" the communication between them (so afraid and confused on what and how this is going to affect their family and lives) vs the lender.

Rosemary,

Thanks for the post. This communication between mortgagor and mortgagee is quite common. This was especially true before prices fell and people were sitting on substantial equity.

William - yeah but with the short sale, this is the first one I have seen.  I wonder why.

Rosemary,

It is still cheaper for the lender to negotiate a short sale, as oppose to foreclosing and incurring the foreclosure expenses on top of selling the property for less than what is owed.

William - so true.  But they act like it is a pain to give it up.

They can be so cold sometimes, I know, we see this all too often in the business!  Hang in there, things don't always go our way, but someone's always watching over us!!  :-)

"Have you seen or heard of any other lender sending a letter out like this and what is your opinion?"

This is a variation of a typical boilerplate letter which has been used by lenders' loss mit/collection departments for many years. The words may differ slightly, but all convey a basic menu of options requiring mortgagor cooperation and compliance.

The criteria used to trigger the letter is determined by the lender's internal collection policies and can vary from lender to lender.

David this was the first that I had ran up on while doing short sales.  I know that the lender in typical situations will send out something to indicate that they want to help you get back on track and once you call and give all the information to them, they usually don't have anything that fits your situation --- except you paying the whole thing up or selling the property. 

So when I saw this letter sent to my client, I was so hoping this is their way of reaching out do the market foreclosure situation,but it could very well be a boilerplate letter and does the same as it has in the past.

I hope soon someone somewhere will come up with something that offers relief to these people that are in these situations before we have a homeless situation that the mass cannot handle.

Thanks for your comment.  I will know more about how serious this letter was intended later on in the process, because my client does not have the money to catch her account up.