It all depends, of course, on “who” you are.

That’s because the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) guidelines that went into effect today (April 5, 2010) mean different things to different audiences (buyers, sellers and lenders).

The overarching concept of the program is to help distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure through a streamlined, incentive-laden short sale process.

NJ.com does a good job of outlining several HAFA key points:

• Every potentially eligible homeowner must be considered for HAFA by a participating lender before the loan is referred to foreclosure.
• The lender can’t require a cash contribution from the homeowner, nor can the lender require that the owner sign a promissory note at the closing.
• The lender can’t go after a borrower for a “deficiency judgment,” or the difference between how much a home sold for and the amount owed.
• Under the guidelines, the borrower can receive up to $1,500 to help with relocation costs.

To read the rest of the program highlights click here. Agents who want to learn about HAFA guidelines inside-out (as well as cash-in on the commissions) should click here.

Basketball legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving is learning a life lesson on the greens of Atlanta, Ga., which is a far cry from the lessons he taught on the hardwoods of Philadelphia, Pa., throughout much of the late 1970s and 1980s.

The original creator or the “slam” dunk appears to have been hoodwinked in a real estate investment gone bad.

Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Hall of Famer trusted his friend and former partner to assume an $11 million loan in 2007 to purchase and operate the Heritage Golf Club in Tucker, which the pair later re-named Celebrity Golf Club International.

Unfortunately, the 27-hole, 20-acre course is only worth about $2 million today. And it’s unable to generate the $75,000 monthly loan obligation.

Foreclosure is, therefore, likely imminent. However, the good doctor, who lost about $5 million on the deal, is apparently taking it all in stride.

His attorney, Dorna Taylor, reveals that Erving will cut his losses and focus on other projects instead.

In fact, he intends to “develop seven courses throughout the world.”

Rock the baby!

Former Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star outfielder, Lenny Dykstra, is about to lose his 12,360 sq. ft. mansion in the ritzy Sherwood Country Club Estates in Thousand Oaks, Calif., to foreclosure, according to Reuters.com.

“Nails” purchased the six-bedroom, seven-bathroom sprawling compound (it sits on 6.5 acres) from National Hockey League (NHL) legend, Wayne Gretzky, for $18.5 million in 2007.

However, reports indicate that Dykstra — who has been plagued with major financial problems, bad business decisions and a litany of lawsuits since his retirement from the sport more than a decade ago — purchased the home primarily as an investment. But when the real estate market tanked, he was unable to unload the property.

As a result, he failed to make mortgage payments and let it fall into disrepair. In fact, the Ventura County Star reports that Dykstra recently removed more than $50,000 worth of lighting fixtures, wood flooring and kitchen appliances late last year to help pay his other debts.

Dykstra is now in the midst of bankruptcy, during which he dropped a $100 million lawsuit that claimed he was the victim of mortgage fraud on the purchase of Gretzky’s former home.

Accordingly, JP Morgan Chase, which is owed at least $13 million on the loan, has been given the green light to foreclose on the home and “pay the bank $92,000 from insurance proceeds to clean up the trash-strewn property.”

The home is currently on the market for $14.9 million.