For today’s blog post, we’re excited to have Brandon Brittingham, co-author of the Short Sale Campus (SSC) designation, share with us his interview with a member of the U.S. Treasury. – The KCM Crew
You may not be aware of the role the US Treasury has played in the housing market over the last few years, but it has had a huge role in getting us on the road to recovery. They are the ones responsible for the government-backed Making Home Affordable (MHA) program which created uniform guidelines for loan modifications, HAFA short sales, and foreclosure prevention . The MHA program has helped thousands of homeowners across the country avoid foreclosure by offering numerous loan modification options or options like a short sale.
I recently had a dream come true and was invited to the US Treasury to get an exclusive interview with Laurie Maggiano, Director of Policy for this office at the US Treasury, where she gave us an exclusive in-depth interview on everything from MHA to HAFA short sales. There is no one single person who has been as influential in this area as Laurie who also has a background as a real estate broker and has worked for FHA and in many other housing related positions.
In this interview Laurie goes through the recent changes for 2013 for HAFA short sales and all short sales which are very important for the real estate industry as there have been some drastic changes to guidelines and procedures that all agents and consumers need to be aware of. Many procedures have changed on short sale time lines, occupancy restrictions, increase of payments to second mortgages and relocation assistance to sellers.
If you have ever dealt with a short sale you can attest that sometimes they can be difficult. In the interview Laurie discusses:
- An escalation tool agents and consumers can use if they are having an issue on a short sale, that can help you if you get “stuck” and the servicer or investor are not responding.
- A detailed explanation of how to use the escalation tool with a link to where to find it on Treasury’s website.
- How you can access a plethora of FREE marketing materials from the US Treasury to help you with clients in these situations.
- And some tips and advice to be more successful at closing short sales!
Having been involved in several hundred short sales I can say this was one of the best educations I have ever received on this subject.
Never before has so much quality content on this subject been released on video. I am so grateful that Laurie and the US Treasury were so gracious to share this information.
You can find the full interview by visiting www.ShortSaleCampus.com/treasury.
