National Closing Center

Archive for the ‘HAMP’ Category

At least that what WJS blog suggests. According to their recent post, failures of HAMP are well documented, and it’s cousin HAFA seems to be following HAMP’s footsteps:

HAFA was designed as a cousin to the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, HAMP, whose woes have been well documented. HAFA works like this: Servicers are supposed to consider short sales for borrowers who aren’t able to receive a HAMP modification. Because some 700,000 HAMP applicants have been ejected from that program, there’s a potentially large pool of borrowers who might be evaluated for HAFA.

Initially announced in May 2009, HAFA was also designed to help reduce wait times by streamlining the short sale process through standardized documents and approaches for short sales.

(…) “It looks good on paper, but you can’t make anyone participate,” says Kevin Kauffman, a Phoenix real-estate agent who says he’s closed 150 short sales but has yet to complete one through HAFA.

Once again, WJS is always quick to judge current administration’s actions. On the other hand, they are right that HAMP more or less is a failure. As for HAFA, it also depends a lot not only on lenders, but on processors. If whoever is trying to negotiated the short sale does not know what they are doing, no government program will be able to help them.