A few days ago I made mention of a California Senate Bill 306 that if passed would change the way Short Sales are performed in California. The change would require a mandatory response time of 21 days once a Short Sale package has been received by a Seller or their authorized agent. If the package being submitted includes a HUD statement then the response time is only 4 days.
As reported here, that bill looks as though it has passed. To read the bill in its entirety you can see it here. Undoubtedly there will be further clarification in the weeks to come regarding the requirements for these timelimes to be honored.
Keep in mind that this bill does not force banks to accept a Short Sale, it simply hold them to a timeline in which they must respond. As any of us who have been involved with a Short Sale can attest, one of the most frustrating aspects of the process is the banks lack of timely communication.
It also appears this will not take effect until January 1, 2010. No doubt the lawyers will be pouring over this to mesh it down into bit size pieces. I would guess they are in the process of doing that right now given the little fanfare and attention this Bill has received.
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this law will have on our fellow California Realtors efforts in closing Short Sales. If successful, my guess is that other States will begin adopting the same policies.
What are your thoughts on the new California guidelines?
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