On July 24, 2009, NAR President Charles McMillan wrote to officials of the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development asking them to include a discussion of the importance of participation in the Obama Administration’s upcoming Short Sales Program in their meeting with servicers on July 28, 2009. The new Short Sales Program, adopted in response to concerns raised by NAR on behalf of REALTORS® and others, promises to increase uniformity, transparency, and speed for short sales transactions.

The Administration called the nation’s top mortgage servicers to the July 28 meeting to express disappointment at the rate of implementation of the Making Home Affordable Loan Modification Program. Press reports indicate that there is widespread concern about the slow rate at which loans are being modified. One article reported the view that servicers have a financial disincentive to modify loans because they receive additional fees from investors/lenders for managing delinquent mortgages and are violating their contracts with the government to modify loans for qualified borrowers. As a result of the meeting, the Administration and the servicers agreed to a goal of 500,000 modifications by November 1.

The Administration has set the end of August as its delayed target date for issuing guidelines and uniform forms for the Short Sales Program.

NAR’s Letter
NAR’s Short Sales Webpage

Contacts: 
Jeff Lischer, 202-383-1117
Tony Hutchinson, 202-383-1120