The latest new government housing program is intended to to make short sales easier. It’s called Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) and is set to start on April 5 2010. The program aims to standardize short sale regulations and paperwork. All servicers participating in HAMP, the federal Home Affordable Modification Program, are contractually obligated to consider those ineligible for modifications for a foreclosure alternative.
Successful short sales or deeds-in-lieu transactions will be rewarded with taxpayer-funded incentives. Non-compliance can result in monetary penalties. The Treasury Department doesn’t yet have a reliable estimate of how many people will be helped.
San Francisco real estate attorneys

