www.shortsalesdone4.me
Homeowners who are underwater with their mortgage may find that relief is on the
way from a bill strongly supported by the
National Association of Realtors (NAR)
that would impose a deadline on lenders to respond to short-sale requests. The
legislation, H.R. 6133, “Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of
2010,” was offered yesterday in Congress by U.S. Reps. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.)
and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). The bill would require lenders to respond to consumer
short sale requests within 45 days. “The short sale, which requires lender
approval, is an important instrument for homeowners who owe more than their home
is worth,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox &
Associates in Tucson, Ariz. “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.”
The number of potential short sale properties is rising across the country.
According to NAR data, in the second quarter of 2010, Nevada, California,
Florida and Arizona are states where significant shares of all properties on the
market are potential short sales: 32 percent, 28 percent, 27 percent and 24
percent, respectively. “Unfortunately, homeowners who need to execute a short
sale are severely hampered because lenders (loan servicers) are unable to decide
whether to approve a short sale within a reasonable amount of time. Potential
homebuyers are walking away from purchasing short sale property because the
lender has taken many months and still not responded to their request for an
approval of a proposed short sale price. Many consumers have mentioned that the
delay in short sale price approval exceeds 90 days, and in many cases never
arrives,” Golder said. She commended Reps. Andrews and Rooney for their efforts
on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly.