This is breaking news from REO Insider…and great news at that…It appears that we will see some greater support in the form of actual Short Sale Laws from our government…Limiting the time a bank can respond to a short sale request from it’s borrowers…
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL) have introduced a bill in the house H.R. 6133 – Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2010; that would force lenders to make a yes or no decision on a short sale within 45 days of the short sale request. This could be huge in facilitating short sales.
There appears to be widespread support for the bipartisan proposal. The National Association of Realtors supports the effort, and NAR President Vicki Cox Golder said:
“As the leading advocate for homeownership issues, NAR believes that quicker attention to the short sales process is vital to help homeowners who are underwater and their communities, as well as the nation’s economy”.
What is a short sale: A short sale occurs when the homeowner sells the house for less money than is owed on the mortgage. In order to conduct a short sale, the seller needs the permission of the lender. The shortfall between the sale price and the value of the mortgage is often forgiven by the lender.
One of the huge downfalls of short sales is they can take an incredibly long time to get approved. Often the approval for a short sale takes 90 to 120 days (or more), by which time the potential buyer has walked away.
This bill will certainly hold the banks, servicers and investors accountable!
