As we’ve all been closely following the recent settlement on the robo-signing crisis and attempting to divine the implications for our local markets; another development has been making waves of it’s own.  As reported recently by Bloomberg News, JP Morgan Chase has begun offering homeowners up to $20k to complete a short sale of their homes.  Wanting to dig a little deeper, I contacted my short sale insiders to learn more; it turns out that this is still an invite-only affair.  Chase has begun mailing letters to mortgagees it has picked up through its recent acquisitions such as Washington Mutual.

This may just be a start, however.  Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are all doing trial runs of these programs themselves, typically in judicial foreclosure states where it takes more time to complete the process.  Banks have slowly realized that they can pare their losses by 15% or more by allowing short sales to go through instead of foreclosing.

Thinking about selling your house and don’t want to wait for an invitation?  We’ve recently been informed that Keep Your Home California has been dramatically under-utilized and still has funding.  They provide up to $5,000 in relocation assistance in a successful short sale.  Get in touch with us to learn more!