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Source: Associated PressObtaining final approval for a mortgage short sale in Arizona is getting easier, according to Valley short sale negotiator Nick Olheiser.

Olheiser, who works for Pruven Real Estate & Investments in Glendale, credits a government program that was launched in April to help speed up short sales.

“It’s a little simpler now,” he said.

Olheiser said his clients began qualifying for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, or HAFA, about a month ago.

Phoenix AZ foreclosures have also resulted in a glut of homes for rent in the Glendale area and beyond. In addition, Phoenix homes for sale are on the rise and a good majority of them are short sale properties.

The program, he said, has helped banks improve their ability to process short sales.

Valley real estate experts said short sales, in which a lender allows a homeowner to sell a home for less than their mortgage is worth, are notoriously time consuming and difficult.

“We’ve seen short sales take as long as 13 to 15 months to go through”, Olheiser said.

The HAFA program gives lenders who approve a short sale within 45 days a $1,500 fee.

Homeowners receive $3,000 in moving expenses.

Still, Olheiser said, short sales are challenging.

“Something that you see that can be a complication even today with the banks is this jumbling of paperwork, losing, moving files. It can be difficult to get them information and get them to look at it,” he said.

Olheiser said banks often want more money for homes than buyers offer, especially if a second mortgage is involved.

“If the buyer is unwilling to come up with their offer, it’s pretty much a dead deal, if you can’t get the second lien to approve,” he said.

HAFA was established to help homeowners who can’t qualify or complete loan modifications avoid foreclosures.

Homeowners on the verge of foreclosure can also request to take part in HAFA.

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My Take: I have a friend who runs two property management companies and he says the same thing is happening in Minnesota and the Midwest. People are taking advantage of short sale opportunities in order to get out from under their upside down mortgage loans. They can’t necessarily walk away with any money, but they can avoid a foreclosure, which makes buying another home down the road a lot easier.

By the way, I learned something new about new homes. Technology has advanced so far that construction firms who build new homes now have some pretty advanced programs to work with, such as onscreen takeoff software which lets them look over blueprints online and virtually design homes before ever pulling out a hammer. There are also several construction estimation software programs out there that allow would-be owners, real estate agents, architects and builders to all view blueprints and plans simultaneously online.

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