Loss mitigation services providers DepotPoint and AssetPlanUSA partnered to help servicers and lenders streamline the short sale process as demand grows for alternatives to foreclosure. The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program launches April 5, 2010. The hope is that HAFA will provide a standard approach to short sales that would make the process more available. With the new government model on the process, service providers and software developers are trying to cash in on the new demand. While some point out HAFA’s inability to sort out loans with second liens, Joe Filoseta, DepotPoint CEO, tells HousingWire in an exclusive interview, that it would persuade borrowers stuck in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) cycle to hang in for a little longer. HAFA is for borrowers who are denied a modification under HAMP. When dealing with a short sale, Filoseta said collecting all required documents is the single largest issue – a familiar problem in loss mitigation. At the outset of HAMP, servicers in a rush to get as many borrowers into the program as possible, delayed document collection for the three-month trial period. A backlog soon formed, resulting in what many critcs call subpar permanent modification conversions. Through November, HAMP servicers provided 31,382 permanent modifications. After a shift toward more document collection and an official Treasury guideline change, the permanent modification number rose to 116,000 through January. Filoseta said that to meet short sale challenges, lenders will have to adopt clearly defined processes. “This includes tools and systems that support the document collection, property valuation, and offer evaluation in the context of a short sale,” Filoseta said. Write to Jon Prior.