HAFA: Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program is a government-sponsored initiative overseen by the US Treasury Department and administered by Fannie Mae assisting all Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)-eligible homeowners in avoiding foreclosure, specifically through short sales or deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure. HAFA was announced on November 30, 2009 in a HAMP Update titled Introducing the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.

HAFA directs lenders to assist eligible homeowners in quickly and effectively implementing short sales or deeds-in-lieu by providing financial incentives to lenders that carry out foreclosure alternatives through the program’s guidelines set forth in Supplemental Directive 09-09 Revised (revised March 26, 2010). The program was introduced in part with the intent to remove the stigma from short sales and help keep communities from being destroyed through massive foreclosures. HAFA in its current state is only applicable to conventional-type, non-Governmental Serviced Enterprises (non-GSE) mortgages and therefore does not apply to loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.4 These organizations may have plans to release their own versions of HAFA.

If you’re a homeowner looking for answers, if you would like to determine if you qualify for HAFA, or if you need an experienced realtor call First Service Group Real Estate at 208-343-9393 or fill out the form below and we will call you. We are locally owned and operated in the Boise, Area.

Selling Your Home

Selling your home involves much more than just placing a “For Sale” sign in your yard and going to the closing. First Service Group is here to help you prepare your home for sale, market your home, and guide you through the sale process to ensure you sell your home within your time frame and get the best price possible.

We will determine the correct price range for your home, point out things you should do to make your home more appealing to buyers, and devise the most effective plan of action. Here are some of the steps we will take with you to sell your home:

• Go over the selling process, without the technical jargon.
• Perform a comparative market analysis.
• Determine the list and target prices.
• Market your property.
• Keep communication open.
• Present the purchase agreement.

Factors That Affect Your Home’s Sale
There are three main factors that determine how marketable your home is–price, financing, and time:

• Price - If your home is priced too high, you must be willing to wait much longer for your home to sell. Either it will take that much longer to find someone to pay more than the home is worth, or the market will eventually catch up to the asking price of the home through inflation.
• Financing - You may not realize it, but the financing of your buyer can have a tremendous impact on the success of selling your home. Try to offer very attractive financing options. Consider carrying the financing yourself at a below-market interest rate or preparing your home for government financing. This could open the door for many buyers that otherwise wouldn’t even consider your home.
• Time - If your time frame is important then you must be willing to lower the price.

How Much Should You Ask for Your Home?
Of course you want to get the full market value for your home. The first step to getting the best price is to determine the home’s value. We can help you set an asking price by taking the following factors into consideration:

• Your home’s value may depend on recent selling prices of comparable homes in your area. After reviewing the selling prices for such homes, the price is adjusted according to current market trends.
• Buyers most likely look in the price range determined by their monthly payment ability and down payment. Buyers are often very knowledgeable in their price range and purchase by comparison. Unreasonable asking prices are an immediate turn-off.
• Inviting a potential buyer to make an offer shows that you are willing to bargain. But if your asking price is outrageous, the buyer’s offer will most likely also be unreasonable.
• It’s necessary to offer pricing, terms and conditions that are competitive in your market. This will help you sell faster and get the full market value.

Contact us today and we will give you a free comparative market analysis using the factors above to give you an accurate market value. For a limited time we will also create a free marketing plan for your property that will show you why listing with us will make your home sell faster.