NEW SHORT SALE TIMELINES MAKES it SHORTER to do SHORT SALES in MARYLAND, BALTIMORE, HARFORD COUNTY

Fannie and Freddie Set Timeline Requirements for Short Sales

By: Carrie Bay 04/17/2012

Beginning June 15, Robert B. McArtor and the MarylandHOMESTeam.com working with distressed homeowners in Maryland whose loans are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should expect to receive a decision on a short sale offer within 30-60 days.

New guidlines will bring greater transparency to the short sale process and expedite decisions related to these pre-foreclosure sales in Maryland so if you are behind on your mortgage payments and facing foreclosure and believe this is a viable option for you..contact us today.

Not only is a short sale an effective foreclosure alternative when home retention is no longer an option, but it keeps homes occupied and helps to maintain stable communities, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

Addressing real estate practitioners’ No. 1 complaint about short sales, FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to establish a new uniform set of minimum response times that servicers must follow in order to facilitate more efficient short sale transactions.

The new short sale timelines require servicers to make a decision within 30 days of receiving either an offer on a property under the companies’ traditional short sale programs or a completed Borrower Response Package (BRP) requesting short sale consideration, whether it’s through the federal government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program or a GSE program.

If more than 30 days are needed, servicers must provide the borrower with weekly status updates and come to a decision no later than 60 days from the date the BRP or offer was received.

This 30-day add-on will provide some leeway for servicers who may need more time to obtain a broker price opinion (BPO) or a private mortgage insurer’s approval for a short sale. All decisions must be made within 60 days.

In the event a servicer makes a counteroffer, the borrower is expected to respond within five business days. The servicer must then respond within 10 business days of receiving the borrower’s response.

Last year Freddie Mac completed 45,623 short sales, a 140 percent increase since 2009. Fannie Mae’s short sale completions shot up by 101 percent over the same period, totaling around 79,800 in 2011. Robert McArtor is Short Sale Certified in Maryland and working with Homeowners in the Maryland, Baltimore, Harford, Cecil County, Anne Arundel County, Montgomery County and Surrounding Areas of Maryland helping homeowners avoid Foreclosure through the Short Sale Process.