What Is HAFA?
Making Home Affordable (MHA) provides struggling homeowners with assistance to help them either keep their home, or if remaining in the home simply isn't possible, to provide alternatives to foreclosure.

Once a homeowner qualifies, HAFA sets a structured timeline on the short sale process, eliminating unnecessary delays, which can cause short sales to fail.  HAFA also offers
cash incentives to both the homeowner and lender on completion of a successful short sale.

Ultimately, the goal of HAFA is to keep as many homeowners as possible out of foreclosure and to help ease the transition out of a home for the homeowner.

How Does HAFA Help Homeowners?

HAFA benefits homeowners facing foreclosure in a number of ways, including:
  • For homeowners who can't complete a loan modification it provides additional options to help homeowners through a short sale or deed-in-lieu.
  • In many cases, homeowners may be eligible for $3,000 in financial incentives, called "Relocation Assistance."  These are funds provided to homeowners from HAFA to assist in the transition out of their home.
  • Homeowners can receive guidance and help from both licensed real estate agents and HUD-approved housing counselors.
  • In some cases when a homeowner completes a foreclosure alternative, they can still be responsible to pay back the difference between what they owed on the mortgage and what they were ultimately able to pay the bank.  This is called a "Deficiency Judgment."  HAFA completely releases homeowners from their mortgages and any future liability or deficiency judgments.
  • In a HAFA short sale, your mortgage company works with you to determine an acceptable sale price.
  • HAFA can have less of a negative effect on your credit score than a foreclosure.

Who Is Eligible For HAFA?

If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure and is interested in HAFA, the best course of action is to contact our team of certified professionals.  A trained agent will be able to guide you and help you find the best solution.  However, some general qualification criteria apply for HAFA:
  • The homeowner must owe more on their mortgage than the current value of the property.
  • The mortgage must have been established before January 1, 2009
  • The homeowner must be late on their payments or in imminent danger of default.  This is called a "hardship."  If the home is already in foreclosure or if the homeowner is going through bankruptcy, they may also be eligible for HAFA.
  • The homeowner must be determined to be ineligible for HAMP or other foreclosure avoidance options.
  • The unpaid principal balance of the mortgage cannot be greater than $729,750.

Are You Or Someone You Know Facing Foreclosure?

If so, you are not alone.  Today, approximately 10 million homeowners are falling behind every month because of unmanageable mortgage payments.  That is one out of every seven mortgages not being paid.  Fortunately, struggling homeowners have more support than ever, as seen in the ongoing attention and improvement of programs such as HAFA from the federal government, as well as special support programs from state agencies and major banks.

You have options, and foreclosure doesn't have to be one of them.

As a real estate agent and a team of Certified Distressed Property Experts, we are specially trained to help homeowners in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.  We are dedicated to helping our clients understand the options available to them and finding the best possible solution.

So if you or someone you know is struggling with mortgage payments, contact us for a private consultation.  It is our mission to help as many homeowners as possible avoid foreclosure.