Our current economy has been crushed by foreclosures. There may be many causes for these foreclosures however it all is due to the current downturn in the economy. Inside the San Diego Real Estate market there have been over 60 thousand foreclosure filings in one month (June 2009). This really is an incredible amount of homes being lost and also the government has new program in an attempt to help. This article is about to go over whether or not the HAFA progam is useful or just fluff

When a home goes into foreclosure it is simply the lender attempting to sell a property because of an inability to pay. When you no longer pay your mortgage you are breaking the contract between you and the lender. The second the foreclosure process is done the bank can sell your home to get back their loaned money. Once the foreclosure is complete if there is a big gap in what you owe and what the short sale resulted in the lender can file a mortgage reclaim. This simply means the lender may go after you for the remaining money.

Nowadays there exists a lot of home owners who cannot pay their mortgage and would like to avoid the negatives of a foreclosure. The program known as HAFA offers homeowners some help if they complete a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. Choose either a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure and you may be able to move into a more affordable home and at the same time alleviate much of your debt.

In some cases the loan lender may allow a mortgage owner to sell their property for a lower amount of money than it is worth in order to receive a big percentage of the sale price.

It may have occured to you to ask what the limitations are and who can be accepted into the HAFA program. One situation in which a homeowner may use the HAFA program is if they cannot apply for a trial loan modification under the making a home affordable program (MHAP). Another reason for being accepted into the HAFA Program is if you were unable to complete a trial period for your MHAP Mortgage Modification. The third way to get into the HAFA program is if you were to miss two payments within the trial modification phase. Don't meet any of these requirementsc It doesn't matter, go and request a short sale yourself or with a real estate agent and you will also get in.

There are homeowners who are working hard towards paying their mortgage but may have been laid off or had other hardships. In this case a lender may recommend a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. What exactly is a deed-in-lieu of foreclosurec The Deed-In-Lieu of foreclosure allows a mortgage owner to transfer their deed to a bank with the hopes of avoiding foreclosure. If you were to complete a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure you would have no legal fees but still owe quite a bit on the mortgage.

One of the main attractions of the HAFA government program is receiving cash back to help with your costs in relocating. If you want to find out more information about if you qualify then you should contact a real estate agent near you or a HUD approved counselor.

Elton Park is a San Diego Real Estate Agent and loves to write articles. He is offering a free ebook on short sales and foreclosures which you can download at Short Sale Ebook