Distressed Property Resources

As a Realtor®, it’s important to be knowledgeable about the challenges homeowners face with foreclosures. PAR encourages you to share the following resources with your clients and your community.

• Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has established the Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Initiative to help interested homeowners save their homes. Approved counseling agencies are located throughout the commonwealth to assist homeowners save their homes.
• PHFA’s Homeownership Programs Hotline: 800-822-1174
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has developed tips to help avoid foreclosure, as well as a list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies for those already struggling to save their home. Call 800-569-4287 to receive information from HUD or a HUD-certified counseling agency.
• Fannie Mae created KnowYourOptions.com™ to help homeowners struggling with mortgage payments or facing foreclosure. They also set up a Homeowner’s HOPE Hotline to contact a housing counselor: 888-995-HOPE.
• Making Home Affordable Program includes opportunities to modify or refinance your mortgage to make your monthly payments more affordable.
• NeighborWorks America provides free foreclosure prevention counseling by expert counselors at HUD-approved agencies. Homeowners facing foreclosure can seek help by visiting the Network Directory.
• Project HOPE NOW is an alliance between HUD-approved counseling agents, mortgage companies, investors and other mortgage market participants that provides free foreclosure prevention assistance. Call 888-995-HOPE (4673) for help.

Mortgage Company Contact Information

• Ameriquest Mortgage: Contact CitiMortgage: 888-995-HOPE (4673)
• Bank of America Home Loan Assistance
  If you are behind on your payments: 800-846-2222 – If you are current on your payments: 800-720-3758
• Chase Help for Homeowners: 866-550-5705
• CitiMortgage Homeowner Assistance: 866-272-4749
• U.S. Bank: 800-365-7900
• Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Homeowner Assistance: 800-678-7986

Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (MARS) Rules

• FTC Changes MARS rules
  Article explaining limits of real estate agent exclusion from MARS rules enforcement
• PAR Offers MARS Disclosure Forms
  Article announcing the availability of MARS compliance forms (includes links to forms)
• NAR MARS Resources Page

• FTC Enacts MAP Rules
  Article explaining MAP rules implemented in August, 2011
• MAP Rules Q&A
  Explanation of MAP rules

Short Sales

A Short Sale is a transaction in which the Seller’s proceeds are less than the amount necessary to pay off liens secured by the property. Examples of such liens include, but are not limited to, mortgages, home equity lines of credit, tax claims, homeowners’ association or condominium fees and legal judgments.

PAR has created the following standard forms to use in a short sale transaction:

• Short Sale Addendum to Agreement of Sale is designed to be used with the Agreement of Sale. The Buyer or Seller should submit the SHS with the Agreement of Sale to convey any changes in terms or conditions that will apply to the Agreement in light of the transaction being a Short Sale.
• Short Sale Addendum to Listing Contract is designed to help the Listing Broker get more information about the Seller’s financial situation and to explain the Short Sale process to the Seller. It should be attached to the Listing Contract.
• Notification to Buyer of a Potential Short Sale is designed to be used as notification to the Buyer that a particular transaction may result in a Short Sale. Included in this form are some of the aspects of a Short Sale about which a potential Buyer or Seller should be aware. The NSS can be provided to the Buyer by the Seller, Listing Broker, or even the Buyer’s Broker, when it is apparent that a transaction may be a potential Short Sale.

Other Resources

• NAR Information on Short Sales includes links to relevant articles, videos and other resources on various topics. This is a good place to get general background information on Short Sales and to see what is happening in other areas of the country.
• NAR put together a Short Sale Workflow with members of several relevant committees to review short sale issues and how they related to various aspects of the practice. The Short Sale Work Group (headed by PAR member Bill Lublin), released a report in February 2008 which led to several NAR policy changes. View the report, policy recommendations and a “workflow” document that shows the various steps of a short sale transaction.