Las Vegas Short Sales: On the Fence Whether to Short Sale Your Home? Bank of America Offering $5,000 – $30,000 to Homeowners for a Limited Time!

Bank of America today is offering anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000 for “enhanced relocation assistance” to homeowners that qualify. I will get into some of the details in a moment. Bank of America told us in the email, that homeowners should contact a real estate agent familiar with their programs. Some homeowners may already have been notified by mail. Since too many home owners stop looking at their correspondences from their mortgage banks, the banks have turned to real estate professionals to make contact with these borrowers who may not be aware of the opportunities and financial incentives available to them.

Some of the details include:

• Borrowers must have their real estate agent initiate a short sale with Bank of America prior to the end of this year and the sale must close prior to Sept 26, 2013. If you already have a short sale working you are not eligible for this particular program, though other incentives such as HAFA short sales and Bank of America Cooperative short sale programs may still be available.
• Investors as well as owner-occupants are both eligible
• The amount you are eligible for is usually determined once the bank has performed their own valuation of the home by sending out an appraiser or real estate agent to perform a sales valuation known as a BPO (Broker’s Price Opinion).
• Incentive may be used as relocation expenses for the borrower or to pay towards junior liens. This can be very useful if you have a 2^nd lien which could interfere in a short sale
• The homeowner must participate in one of the Preapproved Price Short Sale Programs, such as:

HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives), Bank of America’s Cooperative Short Sale Program; specific investor participation and eligibility criteria do apply to these programs.

• Cannot “double-dip”. If you are receiving an incentive from another program, that amount would be deducted from the enhanced relocation incentive program. Example: you are receiving $3,000 HAFA incentive and were eligible for $20,000 from enhanced relocation program; you would only receive $17,000 at closing.

In addition to this potential benefit, closing a short sale in 2012 also other incentives a homeowner should be aware.  May homeowners of their primary residences can be exempted from up to $500,000 of loss that would normally be taxable thanks to the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act of 2007 signed by President Bush. This Act expires December 31, 2012, so it is important to get going right away.

Please contact me here at Shelter Realty by calling 702-376-7379 or emailing info @ shelterrealty.com.