Miami Realtors' group hatches plan to quicken short sales

The Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches said Wednesday it's introducing a program to improve the short sale process.

What it didn't introduce is a whole lot of details.

ShortSaleSolutions will reduce the time for processing short sales and help the market recover, according to the Realtors' group, which is partnering on the project with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

RAMB's press release said participating lenders and mortgage servicers will receive "significant benefits, promotion, exposure and results." But it didn't say how the program will work.

The release goes on to say that bank participation is critical and that Ocean Bank is among a group of lenders committed to the program.

Exactly how this differs from new short sale guidelines started this spring by the U.S. Treasury remains unclear. RAMB officials did not immediately return calls.

"We see instances where buyers make offers and wait months to hear back from lenders and simply move on," Terri Bersach, chairman of RAMB, said in a statement. "This inactivity and inefficiency represent significant impediments to the South Florida real estate market and markets across the U.S. with a prevalence of upside down mortgages. We are excited about bringing ShortSaleSolutions to lenders and loan servicers and ultimately to Realtors and their clients in order to rid the local market of failed short sales and to reduce foreclosures."