The PartnerFirst Active Rain Blog

By: PartnerFirst   Things have been a little quiet in the default world for the last few weeks. However, there were some interesting stories and developments that you may find interesting.  I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version...   Imminent Default Regulations for Short Sales Fannie Mae issued...

Need more reason to stay connected to what is going on at PartnerFirst?  This very recent report confirms the inevitable! Short sales rose from 17% of all sales in Feb to 19.6% of all sales in March and continue to outpace REO’s. This is good news for Realtors and homeowners and I take it as an i...

By: Jacob Swodeck - PartnerFirst, Director of Education So, if you’re wondering what is happening at the highest levels in the mortgage servicing world, here it is! The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to align their guidelines for servicing delinquent...

Posted By: Jacob Swodeck, PartnerFirst - Director of Education   A new bill that would give servicers 45 days to respond to short sale requests was introduced in the in the U.S. House last week. If passed into law, the Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2011, would "require th...

The U.S. Treasury Department has released updates to the policy guidelines for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) Program:    New HAFA Approval Timeline Reference Guide (CLICK HERE):

By: Jacob Swodeck, PartnerFirst - Director of Education Well, this morning was one of those mornings when you know something isn't right.   My coffee didn't taste right.  My neck hurt from sleeping wrong.  And, to top it off -HAFA changed...again! Supplemental Directive 10-18 from December 28, 20...

  New Guidance for HAFA Short Sales - Issued by Treasury Department. A PartnerFirst quick reference guide will be made available soon. Also, our HAFA Specialist Certification will contain a revised supplemental which will be made available free of charge to ALL who earned the HSC Certification p...

By: Jacob Swodeck, PartnerFirst - Director of Education   So what is new in the default servicing world?  The Treasury will start to publish a scorecard of the servicers HAMP performance soon, the House voted by a large majority to end Obama's HAMP program altogether Tuesday evening, the shadow i...

By: Jacob Swodeck, PartnerFirst - Director of Education I just celebrated my son's one-year birthday late last year.  The party, the presents, the excitement-it was lots of fun!  And there are always those well-intentioned people who asked questions like,  "Is he walking yet, or saying words yet?...

For agents who have struggled to find viable short sale listings— and then struggled to get the attention of lenders—the latest news from the field is welcome indeed.  At last, proactive mortgage servicers are initiating the process of approaching delinquent borrowers with the short sale option,...