Obama announces short sale plan

U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Geithner just announced new details on the expansion of the Making Home Affordable program to include short sales. Under the plan, incentives would be provided for mortgage servicers and borrowers to pursue short sales. Financial incentives include $1,000 to servicers for a successful short sale, and borrowers may receive up to $1,500 to assist with relocation expenses. Reasonable and customary real estate commissions and selling costs will be permitted and the servicer will agree not to negotiate a lower sales commission after an offer has been received.

Program 3648, a nationwide initiative originally based on HR 3648 the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, is leveraging this and other legislation to help as many homeowners as possible avoid foreclosure with a primary focus on short sales.

Program 3648 certifies Realtors to service a territory, where they typically receive 200 Distressed Homeowner Leads per month to contact with Program 3648's help.

All short sales are processed by Program 3648's processing center for streamlined approvals, and to allow our Certified Program 3648 Representatives to stay focused on helping as many homeowners as possible through listing and selling their properties. Average short sale turn-time in Q1 of 2009 was 45.9 days.