|
NAR
Claims Victory with Short Sale Commissions
NAR
lobbying and educational efforts to preserve commissions resulted in Fannie Mae
recently instructing all servicers NOT to cut commissions on short sales.
Fannie Mae sent an
announcement to its servicers stating that as of March 1, 2009 negotiations on
short sales commissions below the amount established by the listing agent is
prohibited unless the commission exceeds 6 percent. Fannie Mae recognizes that
negotiating commissions for short sales is unfair because of the extensive work
required often times over many months and working with numerous buyers; and
compensating real estate agents fairly benefits Fannie Mae because agents play a
crucial role in short sales. The announcement also reminded servicers that
third party approvals (i.e., private mortgage insurers) may be required and can
affect commissions.
According to NAR work
continues with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to strengthen their policies
against reducing short sales commissions. NAR's next steps include continued
work with Freddie Mac and other mortgage providers to enact similar regulations
that will ensure that Realtors® are compensated fairly. Currently, Fannie Mae's
policy only applies to loans it owns and guarantees, therefore if a loan is
owned or guaranteed by another lender the commission policy of Fannie Mae does
not apply.
For more information on
Fannie Mae's announcement, visit
http://www.efanniemae.com
and search for "Announcement 09-03."
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2009/0903.pdf
|
