Short sales are the buzz for today's real estate professional as well they should be...estimates are that 
they will grow to be a substantial portion of the sales of homes in 2010 and 2011 with estimates in Metro Atlanta of 17% of all sales. In other areas of the country the percentages are even higher.
So everything is great right? Agent struggling to make a living can redirect efforts to this niche and with training and experience create more income despite the many difficulties and challenges short sales come with...but wait. If you are negotiating a short sale with your client's mortgage lender(s) you may be breaking the law and not just a wrist slap. In 2008 a new federal law (the SAFE Act) passed to protect consumers from unscrupulous mortgage lenders has spawned many states including Georgia to modify their banking laws to be consistent with that law and with unintended consequences.
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance modified the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act to comply with SAFE and limit anyone "negotiating" terms of a mortgage loan who doesn't hold a Georgia Mortgage Originator's license from doing so. This law was obviously intended to try to reign in unlicensed mortgage originators and prevent anyone from taking advantage of consumers seeking loans by enabling Banking and Finance from being able to revoke an originator's license.
Good intention but bad consequence. For entire post, click here.
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