Real Estate Blog

• Buyers must present documentation of funds or a preapproval letter from a lender with their offer for a short sale; sellers need to present this to their lender within three days of receiving the offer.

• Lenders must approve or deny the offer for the home within 10 business days of receiving the offer.

• Settlement must take place within a reasonable period of time after the offer is made, but the lender cannot require a closing earlier than 45 days from the date of the sales contract unless the home seller agrees.

• Buyers cannot sell the property again for 90 days. This is meant to prevent investors from "flipping" homes by purchasing at a low price and selling at a quickly inflated price.

• Short sale transactions through HAFA must take place at "arm's length," meaning the home sellers cannot sell the property to a relative or anyone else with whom they have a closer personal or business relationship.

They are all pretty simple rules.