RISMEDIA, October 5, 2010—While home buyers and sellers continue to be discouraged and frustrated by the complex and lengthy short sale process, the National Association of Realtors is making sure Realtors have the resources and tools they need to help consumers navigate these transactions. As part of that effort, NAR has just launched the HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) Short Sales course.
The one-day course gives Realtors in-depth information about U.S. Treasury, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac initiatives to help streamline short sales and help more homeowners avoid foreclosure. The course also explains the similarities and differences among all the short sale programs available to consumers.
“The current short sale process can be time-consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from a sale that could save a homeowner from foreclosure,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of a real estate company in Tucson, Ariz. “As the best source for real estate information, NAR provides Realtors with the tools they need to help consumers process short sales more efficiently. We believe this new course will do just that.”
NAR is also supporting a bill, The Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2010, H.R. 6133, that requires mortgage servicers to decide on a buyer short sale request within 45 days. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Reps. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.).
“While the lending community has worked to improve the size and training of their short sales staffs, they still have a long way to go on improving response times,” says Golder. “NAR supports making short sales subject to a uniform process where short sale offers are approved at reasonable times, which ultimately allows homeowners to avoid foreclosure.”
For more information, visit www.realtor.org.
