The Making Home Affordable endeavor offers homeowners assistance in creating their mortgages more affordable and preventing foreclosure. MHA is jointly run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Treasury. For homeowners who want to or have to sell their home, MHA offers the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program.
HAFA Benefits
The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program helps you to sell your home via a distinctive short-sale program. A brief sale occurs when the mortgage lender allows your home to be auctioned for less than you owe on your mortgage. The shortfall, called the mortgage deficiency amount, isn’t your legal responsibility with a HAFA short sale. Your credit score is not as damaged compared to a foreclosure or regular short sale since there’ll not be any court deficiency judgment against you nor a foreclosure recorded on your credit score. The mortgage loan company will set a decent short sale price beside you in advance. You will be eligible to receive up to $3,000 in relocation assistance after a completed HAFA short sale.
Eligibility
Your mortgage must be possessed or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or should be serviced by a mortgage company that participates at the Home Affordable Modification Program. There are over 100 such businesses across the U.S. Your mortgage balance must be less than $729,750 and should have originated before Jan. 2, 2009. You cannot have bought any other home within 12 months before applying.
Financial Hardship
You have to record financial hardship to qualify. Such adversity comprises: loss of earnings because of unemployment, death, disability, divorce or business losses; increased expenditures due to higher mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities or healthcare costs; excessive debt payments and overextended credit; or insufficient cash assets to maintain making mortgage payments and also cover living expenses. You have to itemize your income, expenses and debts on your application and they are subject to verification. You are not required to disclose alimony or child support payments.
Restrictions
Your home should have been occupied by you as your legal residence for the last 12 months. If you recorded excessive debts as a cause of financial hardship, you might be required to attend credit counseling. The home canhave no sort of condemnation notice. You can have no record of a conviction in the last ten years for theft, fraud, forgery, money laundering and tax evasion involving a mortgage or real estate trade.