Starting late June, new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) short sale properties will be processed using the Equator system.
The transition to Equator will happen for eligible short sale files.
After the short sale file is assigned to a short sale specialist, the Bank will contact homeowners and real estate professionals affected by this transition. If you have an FHA or USDA short sale transaction that is already in progress, continue to work with your assigned short sale specialist. Therefore, you will not be able to transfer the file that is currently in process over to the Equator processing system.
FHA and USDA short sale files are handled differently than other short sales. The use of Equator does not change the way FHA and USDA short sales are initiated. Only homeowners can initiate an FHA or USDA short sale by working with their assigned Customer Relationship Manager (CRM). Real estate professionals who try to initiate short sale loans for FHA and USDA loans will receive an error message.
Per HUD guidelines, homeowners may need to be evaluated for retention options before pursuing a short sale. If the homeowners have not yet been reviewed for retention options, they may need to complete that process. Homeowner's that are already working with a real estate professional can notify their short sale specialist and submit the Third-Party Authorization Form. This will allow the agent to access Equator for assisting with the file.
Real estate professionals should coordinate with the homeowners to contact their CRM to initiate an FHA or USDA short sale. If the homeowners do not have an assigned CRM, the homeowners should call 1.800.669.6650 to discuss their options.
Note: Do not list the property or submit any offers until the homeowner has received the Approval to Participate (ATP).
For additional FHA materials and educational guides on using Equator, please go to the Agent Resource Center under the programs tab. | 