Freddie Mac’s New Take On Short Sales
Short Sale Fraud - Freddie Mac Drops A Huge Bomb On Real Estate Investors
Short Sale Fraud - The newest problem in real estate is not yet a law or an official policy, but it is definitely going to create issues in the market. The news from Freddie Mac on short sales could cause 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.” The article described a new trend in short sale fraud that happens when a short sale buyer flips a newly acquired property to another buyer and “pockets the difference.” This is a serious yellow flag for short sale investors who make their living negotiating good short sale deals with banks, then selling their new properties to other buyers for a profit.
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. The facilitator does not let the bank know that he already has a buyer ready to pay 95,000 for the property. 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. Freddie Mac considers entities buying property, borrowers who are suddenly in default and borrowers who have not reneged on all of their loans to be red flags for short payoff fraud. 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. It may not be considered breaking the law, but it certainly looks like Freddie Mac wants to make short sales as difficult as possible for real estate investors.
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