On November 30, The U.S. Treasury Department released guidelines and forms for its new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA), which is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).  HAFA will provide incentive in connection with a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure used to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under the HAMP program.  HAFA applies only to loans not owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as they will be issuing their own version of this program in a few weeks.

NAR staff has reviewed the aspects of the program and prepared a brief on the intricacies in hopes to make it more understandable.  To view more information about HAFA, visit the mail page of the REALTOR® Action Center:  www.realtoractioncenter.com.  To get more information on short sales, visit the short sales page on REALTOR.org: http://www.realtor.org/realtors/basics_short_sales.