We talked before about Bank of America’s new $20,000 incentive for underwater homeowners to short sale their home. The time to take advantage of Bank of America’s New Relocation Assistance Pilot Program in Florida is ticking down to an end very quickly. Only homeowners whose short sales are submitted for approval to Bank of America before December 12th will qualify. The homes must have no offers on them already and the closing must occur before Aug. 31, 2012.
Guy Cecala, chief executive officer and publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance, called the short sale payout a “bribe.”
“You can call it a relocation fee, but it’s basically a bribe to make sure the borrower leaves the house in good condition and in an orderly fashion,” Cecala said. “It makes good business sense considering you may have to put $20,000 into a foreclosed home to fix it up.”
Bank of America says that if the program shows promise in Florida, it could be expanded to other states. Other companies, including Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase also have similar programs.
Eligibility:
- Homeowners with property in Florida
- Short sales initiated without an offer between September 26 and December 12
- The customer will have to be eligible for one of the without offer programs such as the HAFA program or our proprietary program (specific investor participation and eligibility criteria do apply to these programs)
- Successful closing of the eligible short sale by August 31, 2012
- Minimum relocation assistance is $5,000 and maximum is $20,000, with the specific amount calculated based on the unpaid principal balance
Exclusions:
- Ginnie Mae, FHA, VA and USDA loans are ineligible for participation
- Lot loans are ineligible for participation
- Properties outside the state of Florida are ineligible for participation
- Short sales initiated with an offer are not currently eligible for the enhanced relocation assistance
Yesterday I received a call from a gentleman who I’d spoken to over a year ago who received a Bank of America offer via mail that said he would receive $9,000 if he did a short sale on his townhome, with no deficiency – meaning the bank cannot come after you post-sale for the difference between what you owe and what the home sells for on a short sale. I am listing it for him this week. If you believe you may be eligible for a relocation assistance program from Bank of America or another lender, please give me a call or contact me for a private consultation. I have 100% success rate with closing short sales in my 5 years of doing them.
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