Jeff & Grace Safrin's Blog
452 viewsIndiana HomeOwners Facing Short Sale- New Law That May Help!
We SOLD and Closed on a Property January 2nd, 2009 that was
Subject To Lenders Approval of a Short Sale.
The Purchase Agreement was received by us via Fax from the Buyers Agent and Jeff contacted the Sellers Lender's Loss Mitigation Department the next morning.
He listened to the usual "sch-peal" of how LONG an answer would take and the LIST of requirements that needed to be in place (pre-lim HUD, hardship letter, etc...) even BEFORE they would consider reviewing this offer.
I walked over to him while he was on the phone and handed him a highlighted portion of
A New Indiana Law passed to help Homeowners facing a Short Sale...
Indiana HOUSE BILL 1359 an excerpt which reads :
"Requires a creditor, a mortgage servicer, or an agent of a creditor to acknowledge a written offer made in connection with a proposed short sale of property that is subject to a mortgage transaction that is at least 60 days delinquent. Provides that the acknowledgment must be provided not later than 10 business days after the date of the offer. Requires the creditor, servicer, or agent to accept or reject the short sale offer not later than 30 business days after receipt of the offer."
I heard Jeff read this exerpt to the Representative on the phone and then ask to speak to a supervisor:)
ONE WEEK ( 7 Calendar Days ) later, the offer was accepted and 3 weeks (21 Calendar days) after that the Final HUD 1 Statement to Close was Approved! 28 DAYS TOTAL - now that's a Short SALE!!!
Even the Buyers Agent was surprised..LOL
It will be a great NEW Year in Indiana, if other Lenders follow this example and heed THE NEW LAW affecting Short Sales :) 
There are monetary fines to the lending institution for failure to adhere, if the new TIME guidelines to keep Short sales SHORT is not upheld!
As PROFESSIONAL REALTORS....We'd rather work collaboratively WITH BANKS and LENDING Institutions to facilitate Successful Short Sales & help PREVENT the CLOGGING UP OF OUR PUBLIC Court Systems and Honorable JUDGES time. Not to mention the waste of Indiana TAX PAYERS MONEY when a home forecloses ( who pays court system employees&sheriffs? we do ;)
There are ready, willing, and able buyers shopping NOW with Interest Rates LOW.......WAY BEFORE a house deteriorates and depreciates a neighborhood by standing empty for a year!
YOU NEED REALTORS to help SAVE this Housing MARKET.
editorial opinions by Grace Safrin
Jeff & Grace Safrin - REAL Estate Brokers - F.C.Tucker Advantage Realty
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Jeff and Grace Safrin of F.C. Tucker Advantage Realty. Jeff and Grace Safrin and F.C. Tucker Advantage Realty are not responsible for the accuracy or content provided.
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Comments
Pete George - REALTOR
Century 21 Scheetz
http://www.buygeorge.biz
Patience is a Virtue, and I'm am getting a firm lesson!
Longest we've waited to close on a short sale so far = 13 weeks. As listing agents we try all avenues we can to work through the layers of bureaucracy for our clients. Sometimes, getting local legislators involved ( they are representatives of the district with empty depreciating homes in them and do want future constituants support :) ...a phone call from the lawmakers who have passed this law directly to the lender involved is not often scoffed at ? especially in an election year, Jeff has even gotten the media involved or whoever possible in the food chain to cut through the red tape and get the deal closed. Our perseverence in working with a variety of lenders and situations in short sales has allowed us to establish a checklist of criteria well in advance of determining if we will even take the short sale listing since we know the circumstances that will succeed (i.e.cooperative steps met by the seller, etc.) so once we list, the process has all it's ducks in a row to go smoother. There are some instances ( multiple lenders involved with 1st and 2nd notes) that we won't touch the short sale- we know there is slim to none chances of a successful close. We have a work ethic - but miracles are out of our realm :)
My name is Anita. My mother lives in Indianapolis and I live in the New Orleans area. I am trying to help her sell her upside down home in a way to protect her credit. She can no longer physically maintain it. She is a 79 year-old breast cancer survivor with other health problems. People are telling her to just walk away from her home. She would like to live in an assisted living apartment or a senior community now or later so protecting her credit is important. She lives in a declining area but her home is nice on the inside. What part of Indiana is your company in? Do you know a realtor experienced in short sales in Indianapolis? Finally what is the website to the new law that puts a time period on getting a response from the lender about a short sale request? My mom has worked so hard to maintain good credit even though her credit card balances are high. A consumer credit counselor told me to have her home listed for 3 months and if she did not get any offers to plead hardship and try to get a deed in lieu. One real estate agent said that the deed in lieu or short sale could take 6 months. Also my mom has a former coworker that's interested in her home.
#1 simple request = here is the website you asked for with the new IN Law HB 1359 ->http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/billinfo?year=2008&session=1&request=getBill&docno=1359
you should be able to click on the highlighted link in the article above and go the site directly or cut and paste the long tail link to your computer.
#2 Our Company's Corporate headquarters F.C.Tucker Co, Inc. is based in Indianapolis and the Corporate office may be able to refer youto REALTORS experienced with short sales their phone # is 800-659-0432. #3 Our Office is in NW Indiana and we would not be able to service your Mom as distance is 3 hours and we are not members of MIBOR ( the MLS in Indy). #4 Also we would recommend you seek the advice of a local attorney before proceeding with deed in lieu. #5 There is law regarding arms length transactions in short sales - a former co-worker may fall into this category- again, pleaseseek legal advice -. #6 since you did not leave any contact information - hope this response finds it's way back to you in a timely fashion. #7 each short sales is unique with it's own set of circumstances and there are many many questions not addressed in your brief paragraph that an expereinced agent would ask .
Sincerely,
Grace Safrin, CRS, Real Estate Broker
F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate
serving NW Indiana
219-309-9930
http://www.1stTeamRealEstate.Net