According to news from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), a proposed bill may soon help speed up the approval process for homeowners selling their home through short sale by requiring subordinate lien holders to review and respond to short sale requests within 45 days.

The legislation, "The Fast Help for Homeowners Act," was offered in Congress July 19th by U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) and is strongly supported by NAR.

NAR has been actively pushing the mortgage servicing industry for years to improve the short sale review and approval process, especially in cases where second liens are involved. NAR President Mo Veissi praised Rep. McNerney for his efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass it quickly.

"Second mortgage lien holders frequently hold up and cancel the short sale transaction while trying to collect the largest possible payout in exchange for releasing the homeowner's lien, even though the secondary lien holder often gets nothing if the home ends up going into foreclosure," said Veissi. "While efforts have been made to improve primary lien holders' response times, issues still abound with second and subsequent lien holders, and this legislation is a step in the right direction."

REALTORS® across the country continue to report that short sale transactions are being held up due to a lack of response regarding acceptance of short sale requests. For full details of the bill, click here.

Source: Realtor.org