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Lawmakers target short sale timeframes

By
Real Estate Agent with Starlight Realty Certified REO & Short Sale Specialist

Have you heard of the Prompt Notification of Short Sale Act? No, it’s not law yet, but if passed it would require lenders to respond to short sale requests within 75 days.

It seems even Congress has figured out that short sale approvals take too long. And, the proposed law calls for a real response, not just “Thanks, we got your request …”.

Lenders would be required to respond in one of four ways:

  1. Acceptance
  2. Rejection
  3. Counteroffer
  4. Need for extension

The extension option could only be used for an additional 21 days, and would need to be accompanied by an estimated date for a final decision.

The law’s sponsors in the Senate include a liberal Democrat and two moderate Republicans: Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Scott Brown (R-MA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

In a rational world, two and a half months would seem like a long time to wait for a response to a simple request. But in the slow-motion universe of big mortgage servicers, this would be an actual improvement.

We’ll see if it moves the ball forward in a meaningful way.

Amanda Wilson
EWM International Realtors, Inc. - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Real Estate Advisor

Let's see how this one flies or if it passes....It's difficult for me to figure out these banks.....let's get the short sales behind us!

Feb 22, 2012 06:44 AM