Freddie Mac Releases New “Definitions” For Short Sale Fraud
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 rest of the article detailed 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 disclose that he already has an outstanding offer for $95,000 from a second end-buyer. 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 article urges buyers, sellers and lenders to be on the lookout for short payoff fraud red flags. Flags include sudden default without explanation, borrowers current on other debts and buying entities. The article also says that resale options in contracts can be a red flag.
Finally, sellers, buyers and lenders are all encouraged to report this short payoff fraud if they are 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.
