I am thrilled to share this news, on my 100th blog post (!), about the changes to how our commission will be effected during a short sale process. For any of you who have completed a short sale before, you are well aware that lenders try to slash your commission while negotiating an offer, most of the time. This effects the process negatively in regards to getting the listing sold as Realtors are timid to bring buyers by because there is a widespread belief that they may not even get paid or their earnings will be significantly less than they may have been thinking they would receive. Also, as the listing agent, you spend your money advertising, your time showing and holding open houses, not to mention all the time chasing down the short sale specialist, helping your customers fill out their package, etc. etc., only for your commission to be butchered. I know a lot of Realtors that won't even take short sale listings because of this. They wonder, "Why am I going to do this obscene amount of work only to make very little?" It doesn't add up. Slashing commissions is not fair to the sellers trying desperately to sell their home prior to foreclosure, it's not fair to the buyers who might not be getting to see this house because their Realtor might have strategically "left that one off the list", and it is not fair to the Realtors who are just plugging away, trying to make a living.
I am proud to present this e-mail that I received today, which may help these languishing listings that are just as marketable as some of the non short-sale listings:
"Fannie Instructs Its Servicers Not to Cut Commissions on Short Sales On
February 24, 2009, Fannie Mae sent Announcement 09-03 to its servicers
instructing them not to negotiate commissions on short sales below the
amount negotiated by the listing agent (unless the commission exceeds 6
percent). The requirement took effect March 1, 2009. Fannie Mae recognizes
that
(a) negotiating commissions for short sales is unfair because getting a
short sale to closing requires intensive work over many months, often
requiring working with numerous buyers, and (b) compensating real estate
agents fairly benefits Fannie Mae because agents play a crucial role in
short sales.
The Announcement reminds servicers that third party approvals (i.e., private
mortgage insurers) may be required and can affect commissions. NAR has
asked both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to strengthen their policies against
reducing short sales commissions, welcomes Fannie's announcement, and has
urged Freddie to follow Fannie's lead.
Fannie Mae Announcement 09-03 (2/24/09)
Angela Elliott is a licensed Florida REALTOR® with Century 21 Classic Properties in Gainesville, FL. Please visit my profile for more about me and browse my Gainesville, FL real estate website for additional Alachua County information and listings. Your phone calls are always welcome at (352) 256-7038 as are your e-mails to angela.elliott1@century21.com. A portion of all my closed sales will be donated to the Alachua Co. Humane Society (View my mission statement). Follow all my services on MyBlogLog.
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