Short Sale Process Cut in Half or More, Freddie Mac Says
Short sales are getting much shorter, Freddie Mac says. The mortgage giant launched a Freddie Mac Standard Short Sale program on Nov. 1 that sought to speed up the short sale process and make it easier and more transparent. "We estimate that the time to complete a short sale will decrease by approximately 50 percent to 75 percent," as a result of the changes, writes Tracy Mooney, Freddie Mac’s EVP in a recent blog post. Among the changes that took effect Nov. 1, 2012: Mortgage servicers have 30 days to make a decision on a short sale once they receive an application. If they need to negotiate with a third party, they have 30 additional days. A final decision on the short sale must be made within 60 days. Mortgage servicers are required to acknowledge they received the short sale application within three days of submission. Servicers must provide weekly status updates if they end up needing more time to review the application past the initial 30-day period. Mortgag
