The U.S.Treasury Department issued new guidelines for short sales that should make the process easier, faster and more consumer-friendly. Imagine a world where short sales were short? Somehow whenever I think of the word “imagine” I think of the the song written by John Lennon and his depiction of a world that would never be. The same could be said for a world where short sales are actually short.

If you’ve been a frequent reader of our ShortSalesCentral.com, then you know that a short sale is when the mortgage lender accepts less than what they are owed in lieu of foreclosing on the property. It’s generally considered a win-win. It allows the homeowner to walk away from the property without a foreclosure on their credit and allows the lender not have to go through the cost and hassle of foreclosing, maintaining and marketing the property after the fact. Not to mention having to increase their reserves due to foreclosing on the home.

The new program doesn’t go into effect until April (why wait???), but here are the major points on the new program:

-Mortgage servicers will have 10 days to approve or disapprove a short sale price. This will speed up time and allow the borrower to be released from debt more quickly.

-The borrower will receive $1,500 in relocation credit. This will help move out of the home and into an alternative residence without as much stress or worry about getting into debt again right off the bat.

-Mortgage servicers will receive $1,000, and second lien holders up to $3,000. This encourages them to release the home for a lower price than they may have otherwise.

-Loan servicers will no longer be able to require a reduction in commission for agents or Reators on a short sale. This will make sure agents don’t shy away from short sales for fear of not earning as much.

The new guidelines should allow the process to go faster and make short sales a more viable option. But that is if the lenders agree to play along since the program is voluntary. Time will tell. Contact us if you need assistance with your Atlanta short sale needs. We have a team of Certified Distressed Property Experts ready to go to battle for you.

Nearly 10 percent of Georgia mortgages were past due in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.  Making Georgia one of the highest delinquency rates in the country.

And the number of properties scheduled to be auctioned on the courthouse steps Tuesday hit 9,930 for a 13-county area of metro Atlanta, according to Alpharetta-based Equity Depot.  That’s the third highest total on record, according to Equity Depot.

Last year, scheduled foreclosures never broke 8,000. This year, the total has exceeded 8,000 in every month but one, according to Equity Depot data.

In August, Gwinnett County led the pack with 2,120 foreclosure notices. It was followed by Fulton (1,929); DeKalb (1,571); Cobb (1,107); and Clayton (785).

If you have a question about foreclosure or how to avoid it by short selling your home, please submit it below.  One of our Certified Distressed Property Experts will contact you.

So, you’re interested in short sales, huh?  How do you start your search?

Looking over the analytics for this website, I noticed that several people started their search by searching with “Keller Williams” and “short sales” in their search phrase.  Given the fact that Keller Williams agents are some of the best trained in the industry and one of the only companies increasing their market share, you’re off to a great start, nice job.

How do you siphon through all the results that appear though?  Certainly there are several Keller Williams real estate agents that list short sales experience/expertise on their resume, but who’s the best?

Aaron Hofmann, the best Atlanta Keller Williams Realty realtor with expertise in short sale listings.

Although my opinion is somewhat bias (he’s my boss), I’d like to suggest the name Aaron Hofman.

Why Aaron?

He is a member of the Agent Leadership Council (ALC) at Keller Williams Realty Cityside (Smyrna Vinings).  Team leader of H2 Realty and author of the following community websites; SmyrnaVinings.com, AllAboutRoswell.com, and AllAboutSandySprings.com.  How many Realtors do you know with the expertise and dedication to maintain all those websites?

Not only is he a good looking, tall, and dashing young man, he has the personality to match it.  He is a great family man who is very active in the community he resides in.

On top of that he is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) so numbers actually make sense to him (I think he aced the math section of his real estate exam).  This is a great benefit to you because he can look at your individual situation and make suggestions not just from a Realtor’s point of view, but from a financial experts view as well.

He is also a Certified Distressed Property Expert!

They say Germans (Hofmann) are good at engineering, let Aaron help you engineer a plan to avoid the foreclosure of your home, act now.

I once attended a seminar presented by speakers Kiser and Bender, I left that seminar with one principle that I have applied to business and that is, “people like to do business with people that are fun to do business with.”  All jokes aside, Aaron is a great guy with the knowledge and expertise to help you out.  If you are a distressed homeowner, contact Aaron and let him help you out, life will start to get fun again.