Freddie Mac’s New Take On Short Sales And Fraud
June 11th, 2010
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.
==========
More customers
To get your site at the top of Google for LESS than others are charging, go ahead and fill in the form to your right.
This page is brought to you by MoreCustomersAndMoreSales.com.
==========
Last Friday, April 16, 2010, Freddie Mac posted a new article entitled :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 rest of the article detailed scenarios and red flags for “short payoff” fraud. The scenario revolved around a short sale facilitator who set up a deal with a lender to purchase a home worth 80K for 70K while the lender took a 30K loss. The facilitator does not let the bank know that he already has a buyer ready to pay 95,000 for the property. When the transactions close – in this case on the same day – and the facilitator pockets the difference, according to Freddie Mac he has just committed fraud because he withheld information about a higher offer and causes Freddie Mac to take a “larger than necessary” loss on the sale.
The posting encourages buyers, sellers and lenders to look out for short sale fraud red flags. These flags include sudden borrower default, a borrower who is current on other obligations and the buyer of the property being an entity rather than a person. The article also says that resale options in contracts can be a red flag.
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.
Related posts: