Recently, Bank of America sent out close to 100,000 solicitations to distressed homeowners offering them a chance at a deed-in-lieu transaction. “Deed-in-lieu” means giving the deed to your home to a lender in order to circumvent the foreclosure process. You get to walk away from your house, and the lender states the debt resolved because you returned your collateral. Many lenders have announced that they will offer a variety of incentives for this type of transaction because it saves them a great deal of time and money in processing costs even though they may take a hit when they try to sell the home in today’s market.
Short sale investors see this new trend with concern, especially since some lenders have said that they find deed-in-lieu transactions preferable to short sale transactions since they don’t take as long. Also, homeowners who are going to lose their homes anyway may find this to be a more acceptable alternative since it is being portrayed as a route to 100% resolving the debt rather than worrying about being followed up with later for the remainder just when you have gotten back on your feet.
As a short sale investor, you should not stress about this. There are several homes that will still go through the short sale process, and not all circumstances are going to qualify for a deed-in-lieu transaction. You can point out to homeowners who may be backing out of a short sale that unless the wording in their deed-in-lieu agreement specifies that the debt is considered entirely resolved by the return of the property, as this may not be the case.
In addition, both deed-in-lieu and a short sale do go on your credit history and impact your credit score in a negative way, a deed-in-lieu can remain on your history for a full 7 years. According to new legislation, short sales may be removed as soon as 3 years in some instances.
Certainly, some homeowners may opt for a deed-in-lieu transaction instead of a short sale transaction with you. However, the current deed-in-lieu “push” could actually be a positive, since it may put a dent in homes that lenders were unwilling to short sell anyway. Simply be prepared to answer questions about this style of transaction, then continue doing your short sales and helping people in trouble resolve their personal housing issues.
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