TAKE ACTION TODAY

• To learn more about the Home 

Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives

(HAFA) Program, visit 

MakingHomeAffordable.gov.

• Contact your mortgage servicer 

—the company to which 

you pay your mortgage—to 

determine if you qualify.

• Call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673) for 

information about the Making 

Home Affordable Program and 

to speak with a HUD-approved 

housing counselor for free. If you 

are having difficulties, call the 

hotline and ask for “MHA Help”.

• Be cautious of scams. Do not 

sign your deed over to anyone 

or make a payment to anyone 

other than your mortgage 

servicer without seeking your 

servicer’s approval directly.

Visit MakingHomeAffordable.gov

or call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673)

SM

Home Affordable Foreclosure 

Alternatives (HAFA) Program

Helping Homeowners Transition

to More Affordable Housing

SM

Visit MakingHomeAffordable.gov

or call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673)

Help for 

America’s 

Homeowners

033111
MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE

The Obama Administration’s Making Home 

Affordable Program is a critical part of the 

effort to stabilize the housing market and help 

struggling homeowners get relief and avoid 

foreclosure.

Making Home Affordable includes opportunities 

for homeowners to modify or refinance their 

mortgage to make their payments more 

affordable.

Some homeowners may feel that they can no 

longer afford their home, even with modified 

payments. These homeowners still want to 

avoid the devastating effects of foreclosure. 

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives 

(HAFA) Program makes it easier for homeowners 

to work with their mortgage servicer to sell their 

home (short sale) or deed it to the bank (deedin-lieu of foreclosure). 

Under HAFA, after a short sale or deed-in-lieu is 

successfully completed, a homeowner is cleared 

of all remaining debt and obligations on their 

first lien mortgage to their mortgage servicer, 

and is eligible for $3,000 to help with moving 

expenses.

For many homeowners, these solutions are 

the safest way to transition to more affordable 

housing. 

To learn more about the potential impact of 

a short sale or a deed-in-lieu on your credit 

report, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/

consumer/credit/cre24.shtm. 

HOME AFFORDABLE FORECLOSURE ALTERNATIVES

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives 

(HAFA) Program includes two options:

Short Sale

In a short sale, the servicer allows the 

homeowner to list and sell the mortgaged 

property and agrees to accept the net proceeds 

from the sale even if the proceeds are less than 

the total amount due on the mortgage. 

Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure

Servicers may also offer to accept a deed-in-lieu 

of foreclosure through which a homeowner 

voluntarily transfers ownership of the property 

to their servicer. Many servicers require 

homeowners to try to sell their home before 

they will accept a deed-in-lieu.

Eligibility Criteria*

You may be eligible to apply if you meet all of 

the following:

• You live in the home or have lived there in the 

last 12 months. 

• You have a documented financial hardship. 

• You have not purchased a new house within 

the last 12 months. 

• Your first mortgage is less than $729,750. 

• You obtained your mortgage on or before 

January 1, 2009. 

• You must not have been convicted within the 

last 10 years of felony larceny, theft, fraud or 

forgery, money laundering or tax evasion, in 

connection with a mortgage or real estate 

transaction.

*Eligibility criteria are for guidance only. Contact your 

mortgage servicer to see if you qualify for HAFA.

Other Loans

If you have other loans against your house, 

you will need to work with your servicer to 

negotiate the release of those loans in order to 

complete the short sale or deed-in-lieu. HAFA 

helps by providing some funds to pay off 

junior loans.

HAFA Timeline

Unlike the process for many short sales and 

deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure, HAFA sets clear 

timelines to keep the process efficient.

Mortgage servicers must evaluate 

homeowners for HAFA within 30 days after 

one of the eligibility criteria is met. If the 

homeowner is eligible, the servicer will send 

a Short Sale Agreement (SSA)—a contract 

between the homeowner and the servicer—

that will include:

• A list price approved by the servicer;

• The length of time the property will be 

marketed for sale;

• An agreement releasing the homeowner from 

all future liability after the property is sold;

• The amount of the monthly mortgage 

payment, if any, that the borrower will be 

required to pay during the term of the SSA;

• Information about $3,000 in relocation

assistance after closing; and

• An agreement that so long as the borrower 

performs in accordance with the terms of 

the SSA, the servicer will not complete a 

foreclosure sale.

If a servicer is willing to accept a deed-in-lieu of 

foreclosure, they will provide a HAFA deed-inlieu agreement.

SM

Visit MakingHomeAffordable.gov or call 1-888-995-HOPE (4673)