Thanks to our short sale client in Manassas, VA who sent in a review to www.Zillow.com today about our service. It was a pleasure to work with him on the sale of his home in Manassas. Here were his great remarks:

“This team worked constantly to get my house sold. They went above and beyond my expectations. It was a short sale with two mortgage companies and one of the mortgages got sold TWICE during the process…making everything much harder and longer. The overall process was almost 11 months long. The Jennifer Young team pulled though, got approvals and made sure that we went to closing on time! They never gave up…even when things were not looking very promising. Highly recommend them! Huge thanks to Leslie who did everything humanly possible to make this all happen!” c.f.

If you know anyone who needs our help, call me at (703) 774-9572 or email me.

Many homeowners who are upside down on their loan and having trouble making mortgage payments are getting phone calls from a company called Dignified Transition Solutions and being told about a new program called Streamlined Cooperative Short Sale Program…some of our callers are asking what this program is and what their options are.

Here are a few facts about the Company and the Bank of America program they offer:

–    The Streamline Cooperative Short Sale Program offers borrowers an opportunity to complete a short sale in a shorter than average time with very little paperwork required. Additionally, the borrower can receive a $2500 incentive from Bank of America to complete the Short Sale.  Reviews across the country are mixed.

–    To qualify for a Streamline Cooperative Short Sale from Bank of America you need to be selected by Bank of America and submit the appropriate agreement.

–    Dignified Transition Solutions is a privately held company that was started by former Bank of America executives and it hand picks real estate agents in the sellers market area to list short sales and, as a third party company, receives a portion of the sales proceeds…much like REO servicers that assign REO listings to area agents.

As it stands, if you receive a call from DTS, you have been tagged as a potential short sale client – but you do not have to work with DTS to short sale your home. Call me if you’d like to explore all your options concerning your mortgage nd find out how the system works. We can help at NO COST to you. I can be reached at (703) 774-9572 or email me. Our team has sold over 100 short sales in Virginia, Maryland and DC. Always be sure to ask how many short sales an agent has listed, under contract and/or sold in your area before hiring him or her.

(DSNews.com) Beginning June 15, real estate agents working with distressed homeowners whose loans are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should expect to receive a decision on a short sale offer within 30-60 days. The new guidelines, released this week, are aimed at bringing greater transparency to the short sale process and expedite decisions related to these pre-foreclosure sales.

Not only is a short sale an effective foreclosure alternative when home retention is no longer an option, it also keeps homes occupied and helps to maintain stable communities, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

The GSEs’ new short sale timelines require servicers to make a decision within 30 days of receiving either an offer on a property under the companies’ traditional short sale programs or a completed Borrower Response Package (BRP) requesting short sale consideration, whether it’s through the federal government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program or a GSE program.

If more than 30 days are needed, servicers must provide the borrower with weekly status updates and come to a decision no later than 60 days from the date the BRP or offer was received.

In the event a servicer makes a counteroffer, the borrower is expected to respond within five business days. The servicer must then respond within 10 business days of receiving the borrower’s response.

GSE servicers must comply with the new minimum communication time frames for all short sale evaluations conducted on or after June 15, 2012, although servicers are encouraged to begin implementing the new requirements sooner.

Last year Freddie Mac completed 45,623 short sales, a 140 percent increase since 2009. Fannie Mae’s short sale completions shot up by 101 percent over the same period, totaling around 79,800 in 2011.

To find out if your loan is backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, click on the links below:

Does Freddie Mac Back My Loan?

Does Fannie Mae Back My Loan?

Manassas Park, VA Short Sale SOLD by JYH Team – Lenders on Investment Home Were JP Morgan Chase & Seterus

Congrats to our clients who just closed on the short sale of their investment home at 9700 Elzey Place in Manassas Park, VA! The 1st Trust was with Seterus (www.seterus.com) and the 2nd was held by JP Morgan Chase. Both approved the short sale, with some special stipulations. Sellers were asked to bring some cash to closing, but little compared to full forgiven debt. Sellers bought the home in 2006 for over $343,000 – we just sold it at current market value of $146,162. That’s a difference of nearly $200,000. Here are the approval letters for your research purposes. Call me at (703) 774-9572 or email me at jennifer@jyhteam.com if you or someone you know may need our help. For quick contact, my QR Code for Smart Phones is also attached here.

Woodbridge, VA Short Sale SOLD by JYH Team – Bank of America Approved $2,500 in Relocation Assistance for Seller!

We closed on our client’s short sale yesterday on Cressida Place in Woodbridge, VA after an unexpectedly longer negotiation process with Bank of America. This one took 6 months, even though the lender had appraised the home ahead of time AND approved the sale price for a short payoff. Our client bought the home for over $313,000…we sold it for $180,000. (BofA originally wanted the home listed for $200,850.) In the end, we were able to secure $2,500 in relocation assistance for the seller, some of which they needed to use on unexpected costs, like past due HOA fees. BofA also agreed to waive deficiency rights. Congrats to our clients! For more info on this case or if you know anyone who needs our help, call me at (703) 774-9572 or email jennifer@jyhteam.com . Here is a copy of the instructions sent to our seller when BofA first told them to list their home as a short sale.

Cressida Short Sale Instructions from BofA

HAFA Short Sale Approved by Bank of America in Locust Grove, VA – Deficiency Rights Waived!

After 9 months of negotiations, our sellers’ short sale on Lakeview in Locust Grove, VA is headed to closing. Our clients owe more than $250,000, but have an approved sale price around $109,000. This is a HAFA short sale and Bank of America has agreed to waive deficiency rights to the unpaid mortgage balance. Here is the approval letter – if you know anyone who needs our help, let me know at me or call me at (703) 774-9572.