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Freddie Mac Takes On The Short Sale Transaction
By LaMesaDuiLawyer | May 21, 2010
Short Sale Fraud - Freddie Mac Drops A Huge Bomb On Real Estate Investors
Short Sale Fraud - It’s not a law; nor is it an official policy, but it’s definitely going to be a problem regardless. Freddie Mac’s new short sale opinion – for lack of a better word – could create serious legal and practical issues for real estate investors.
On Friday, April 16, 2010, the organization posted an educational article titled “Emerging Fraud Trends: Short Payoff Fraud.†Essentially, the article stated that a short payoff or a short sale can be considered fraudulent if the lender agrees to a short sale that already has a third-party buyer in place that is paying a higher amount than the agreed-upon loan payoff amount. This could spell trouble for investors who have been short-sale flipping, which means negotiating a short sale with the bank, then selling the property immediately to another buyer for a profit of a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.
The Freddie Mac poster went on to describe scenarios and red flags for short payoff fraud. The scenario was set up around a short sale negotiator or facilitator that engineered a short sale of an 80,000 dollar home with outstanding debt of 100,000 for 70,000 dollars. In the scenario, the facilitator fails to notify the bank he has a higher offer, 95,000, on the house. The second the facilitator puts his profits in his pocket, Freddie Mac considers him guilty of fraud because his negotiations caused Freddie Mac to ultimately take a “larger than necessary†loss on the sale of the property.
The posting encourages buyers, sellers and lenders to look out for short sale fraud red flags. Flags include sudden default without explanation, borrowers current on other debts and buying entities. The article also tells readers to keep an eye out for resale options in their purchase agreement.
Everyone involved in a short payoff is encouraged by Freddie Mac to report potential short payoff fraud the second they become aware of a second purchase contract for a higher price. This may not yet be a law, but the signs are not good when Freddie Mac has posted such a direct attack on short sale investors.
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