Short Sale Blog

What is the VA Compromise Sale Program?

The VA Compromise Sale Program is often referred to as the VA Short Sales program. Many homeowners who are looking to sell their homes today are finding that, in the current economic climate, the market value of their home is less than the amount owing on their mortgage. However, if their home loan was financed as a VA Loan, they may be eligible for assistance through the VA Short Sales Program.

VA Loan summary

The VA Loan is a program administered through the Department of Veterans Affairs, available to eligible service persons and veterans to help them to negotiate home loans at more favorable terms than most borrowers would have access to.  

VA does not provide the funds; the mortgage is still issued through a private bank, like any other mortgage. But VA provides a loan guaranty to the lender, promising to pay a specific amount to the lender in case they are unable to continue making payments on their loan. They do not guarantee the entire value of the loan, but a percentage. This can range from 50% on loans up to $45,000 (i.e. maximum $22,500), to between 25% and 50% of loans up to $144,000, and up to 25% of the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit on loans over $144,000.

The maximum amount that VA will guarantee a loan for is called the “entitlement.”  It is like an insurance policy for the bank. Active-duty service persons can qualify for entitlement. The amount of entitlement that a service person is eligible to receive can be found on their Certificate of Eligibility, available from VA.

The advantage of getting a home loan through the VA program is that borrowers receive much more favorable mortgage terms. Since the bank receives the loan guaranty from VA, borrowers can negotiate a loan with little or no money down - even a deposit of 0% - and receive lower interest rates.

Why would a homeowner choose to proceed with a VA Short Sale?

Sometimes, circumstances force the sale of a home at a lower sale price than the original purchase price. For members of the military, reasons to sell a home at a loss might be because of a permanent change of station, or a change in marital status.

If the home was purchased with a VA Home Loan, the seller might be eligible for the VA Compromise Sale Program. If an offer to purchase is received that is less than the amount owing on the home loan, the homeowner can send a request to VA to undertake a “compromise sale” (or short sale). If VA approves the sale, they will pay the lender the difference between the purchase price and the amount owing on the VA mortgage, up to the amount that they guaranteed on the original home loan.

In a regular short sale, the homeowner is dependent upon the lender agreeing to take a financial loss - absorbing the difference between the amount owing on the mortgage and the sale price of the house - in order for the homeowner to rid themselves of a mortgage that they no longer can service. If the lender does not approve the short sale, it cannot go ahead. The advantage of a VA Compromise Sale or Short Sale is that VA takes some or all of the loss, through their loan guaranty, making it much more likely that the lender will approve the short sale.

Eligibility requirements:

The VA Compromise Sale program is for homeowners who have already received a purchase offer on their home that falls short of the amount owing on their mortgage, and whose mortgage was negotiated through the VA Home Loan program.

In order to qualify for the program:
- the seller must demonstrate financial hardship
- the home must be sold at fair market value based upon current market conditions
- there must be no second lien or other lien on the home, unless the value of that lien is deemed by VA to be “insignificant” (In situations whereby there are second liens or other liens, the seller can request that the lien-holder consider releasing the lien and converting the loan to a personal loan.)
- closing costs for the sale must be considered “typical” for such a sale
- the compromise sale must be less costly to the government than foreclosure would be
- the borrower must provide a statement explaining why they must sell the property
- a VA appraisal will be required
- on loans that originated on or before December 31, 1989, the seller must be willing to sign a promissory note and enter into a payment plan to compensate VA for a portion of the compromise claim payment.

To protect the seller’s interest, the seller should make the sales contract subject to the approval of a VA compromise sale.

Steps:

The homeowner must first receive a purchase offer, at current fair market value, that is lower than the amount owing on the mortgage. Once this offer has been received:

1. Find out if your lender has a Loss Mitigation Department that has been authorized by VA to process a VA compromise sale. You can find an up-to-date list of authorized lenders here or you can contact your lender to ask them.

2. If your lender does have a VA-authorized Loss Mitigation Department, contact them directly for the forms. If they do not, then contact your regional VA office for forms.

3. Fill out a financial status report form, provided by your lender or the VA. You can download the form here.

4. Complete a letter of request.

5. Complete a Compromise Agreement Sale Application form, provided by your lender or the VA.

VA will then work with your lender and review the application. If they approve the short sale, VA will pay the lender the difference between the mortgage balance and the proceeds of the sale - up to the value that the VA Loan was guaranteed for.

When VA pays the lender the difference between the sales price and the total debt, the portion of the homeowner’s entitlement used to guarantee the loan will remain tied up until VA is reimbursed in full.

Further information:

Updated list of VA-authorized lenders:
http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/roanoke/rlc/slmps.htm
If your lender is not on this list, VA will process the Compromise Sale/Short Sale directly.

Regional loan centers contact information:
http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/rlcweb.asp

More information (pdf document):
www.vba.va.gov/ro/roanoke/rlc/forms/Compromise Sale Program.pdf

VA Compromise Sale Program - Info for Real Estate Professionals:
http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/houston/lgy/compsale.html

If you are a homeowner, and would like to learn more about short selling your home, please go to: http://seattleshortsales.com/homeowners/

If you are a real estate agent, and would like to learn about our no-fee short sale service, please go to: http://seattleshortsales.com/agents/

Roughly 16% of mortgages on the LendingTree network in Washington are worth less than what is owed on the loan.

LendingTree is an online exchange for mortgages. According to LendingTree, Washington came in slightly below the average negative equity national average of 18.1%. The state with the lowest percentage was Oklahoma with 6%. Nevada topped the chart at 69.9%.

Government default studies have shown a direct correlation between rates of negative equity and default rates. Homeowners who owe substantially more than their home is worth are much more likely to default on their loan, or walk away from their mortgage.

If you are a homeowner looking for answers regarding your negative equity situation, please contact Seattle Short Sales, Inc. today for help understanding your options.

Fannie Mae, in an effort to reduce the amount of 'strategic defaults' has issued new underwriting guidelines meant to punish those homeowners who walk away from a mortgage, even when they have the ability to pay it.

Researchers have stated that the main motivation to walk away from a mortgage is when there is negative equity. According to real estate research firm CoreLogic, about 11.3 million homeowners are underwater on their mortgages. Around 2.3 million additional homeowners are very close to being underwater. All told, almost one-third of all U.S. homeowners are either underwater or are close to it. CoreLogic projects that the typical underwater homeowner will not return to a position of positive equity until 2015 or 2016 at the earliest.

Fannie Mae is targeting homeowners who let their house go to foreclosure without evidence of a hardship or a good-faith attempt at a workout alternative. The penalty that Fannie Mae is implementing is two-fold. First, they have declared that strategic defaulters will be ineligible for a new Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for a period of seven years from the date of foreclosure. Secondly, they are vowing to aggressively pursue deficiencies in states that allow them to do so.

In order to encourage workouts, Fannie Mae, in April 2010, issued a revised underwriting bulletin, found here, that encourages homeowners to seek foreclosure alternatives such as short sales, by making the homeowner eligible for a new Fannie Mae backed loan in as little as two years. Compared to the waiting period of seven years post-foreclosure, it is clearly an advantage to pursue alternatives to foreclosure.

Let's take an example of a borrower who is underwater. Here at Seattle Short Sales, Inc. we work with hundreds of local homeowners, and can draw on a mountain of recent statistics. You can see all of the short sale approval letters here. On average, when the home is sold, the debt discounted is over $100,000 on an average property.

In our example, the homeowner previously purchased the property for $350,000 four years ago. The homeowner has a mortgage payment that is over $1,000 more than a rental payment would be for a suitable, alternative dwelling. If it takes until 2016 to regain their lost equity, that would mean they are making 84 housing payments for a $1,000 more than necessary, with nothing to show for it in the end. $84,000 put into the pocket of a homeowner in only six years is the reason why people voluntarily default.

Now, in Washington State, if the house goes to a Trustee Sale, the foreclosing senior lien holder, in most cases will not have a right to pursue the borrower for a deficiency. The junior non-foreclosing lien holder does retain the right. So, if the homeowner only has one mortgage, then there is a good chance that they could completely walk away unscathed, except for the restriction in using Fannie Mae money for the next seven years. If they have a junior lien, then the situation is more complicated.

In all cases, the homeowner will want to consult with a real estate and bankruptcy attorney to assess their options and compare the pros and cons of the situation.

If you have negative equity in your house, First American CoreLogic estimates that you will not have positive equity until late 2015 to early 2016. In some severely depressed markets, the typical borrower may not experience positive equity until 2020 or later.

CoreLogic, based on it's calculations, is stating that 11.3 million - or 24% - of all U.S. residential properties had negative equity in the last quarter of 2009.

They are making their recovery projections based on a 3% annual home price increase. If calculated at a 5% annual appreciation, the first markets would recover by 2013, but CoreLogic states that 5% appreciation is much higher than the historical average.

While it might be assumed that price appreciation would be the main factor in reducing negative equity, it turns out that the amortization of the loan, and paying down principal actually accounts for the majority of the reduction in negative equity.

It is the negative equity problem that is making many homeowners choose the short sale route. The short sale route allows the homeowner to both reduce their monthly housing payment by moving into a more affordable living situation, and avoids spending 5-7 years making mortgage payments on an asset that isn't valuable. Many homeowners are choosing to cut their losses, and move themselves and their money into a more affordable, more rewarding situation.