No Bull Agent

Homeowner in Distress? The HAMP and HAFA Programs May Be for You.

July 13th, 2010 by Mike Dils
Categories: Finance, Home Buyers, Lending
Please leave a comment.

Help for Home Owners

Homeowners in distress continue to dominate the headlines.  The recent article “Home Prices in San Diego County Take a Breather” posted on SignOnSanDiego.com states, “The proportion of the resale market made up of homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months slid last month, down to 28.4 percent, compared to 38.6 percent a year earlier, making it the lowest since November of 2007, according to DataQuick.”  Though this statistic shows the number decreasing, 28.4% is still a large percentage and varies from market to market.  Homeowners are looking for options and as of April 5, another became available.

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) provides an option for homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).  For reference, HAMP is a loan modification program put in place to reduce monthly mortgage payments for delinquent or at-risk homeowners.  This original program was put in place for loans originated on or before January 1, 2009 and for borrowers who are at least 31 days delinquent.  The program is scheduled to end December 31, 2012.  So, HAFA is for homeowners who have taken advantage of HAMP and are still at risk of foreclosure.

According to Realtor.org, HAFA provides incentives through a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under HAMP. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: borrower, california, distressed, HAFA, HAMP, home owner, kaplan, nobullagent, san diego