How To Get Paid $3000 To Short Sale Your Duplex

I had a duplex owner call yesterday who is staring down the barrel of foreclosure.

And the government is willing to pay him up to $3000 to do a short sale.

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program, gives struggling duplex owners two options for transitioning out of their mortgage: either a short sale, or what’s known as a Deed-in-Lieu of foreclosure — which is, essentially, simply handing the keys back to the bank.

In order to receive a HAFA payment, a duplex owner must have:

• Lived in the duplex within the last 12 months
• Have a documented financial hardship
• Not have purchased a house or another income property within the last 12 months
• Have a balance left on their first mortgage that’s less than $729,750
• Gotten their mortgage prior to January 1, 2009
• Not have been convicted in the last ten years of larceny, theft, fraud, money laundering, forgery or tax evasion in connection with a mortgage or real estate transaction.
• Fallen behind on mortgage payments
• Have a duplex payment larger than 31 percent of their gross income
• Applied for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and been denied

Like all government programs, there are a lot of hoops to jump through. But without trying, what’s the alternative?