The FBI is focusing its attention on real estate brokers to see whether or not the broker submitted all offers to the lender in a short sale transaction.  A real estate broker who does not submit ALL offers to the lender could be charged with being involved in a conspiracy to commit fraud against the lender.  

 

 

Please take a look at this link FBI focusing on Real Estate Brokers on submitting all offers

I would love to get your feedback on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

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First and foremost our fiduciary duty is to the Seller who until the Lender takes back the property, is the actual homeowner so I don't see how we would be at risk here.  Comments? Opinions?

Donna -   Very interesting.  The issue is what the seller INSTRUCTS the agent to do. The short sale lender does not "own" the property.  The seller still owns it, and can make a decision regarding which offer he wishes to sign to become a "contract".  How could a lienholder have the legal authority to see ANYand EVERY offer a homeowner gets on his property when that offer would result in a short sale?  That does not even make sense.  Many owners are not even "behind" in their mortgage payments when they do a short sale.   I'd like to see the source material on this versus the article on the board's website.

 

I want to add this directly from the Florida Association Website regarding short sales.  It says specifically that Florida real estate agents do not have to present multiple "offers" to the short sale lender, that the seller still owns the property etc.

http://www.floridarealtors.org/FLRealtorMagazine/2009/January/QASho...

 

Donna. I do not believe this information at all. Lenders do not want to see all of the offers on a property. Lenders conduct their own evaluations and arrive at the values that is acceptable to them. If indeed the FBI did state this then they are clueless and will create more confusion in the market than there already is. There are no links to the source in the original article so my opinion is that it is hearsay.

This was given to us by the Long Island board of realtors.

I have always reviewed all offers with the seller.After, they make the decision on selecting the best offer then it's presented to the lender. I believe that it's too confusing for the bank to make the decision if more than one offer is given.

 

This is to make sure you leave a paper trail on all offers that has been given on the property.

 

here is the source: http://www.lirealtor.com/viewStory.aspx?sid=e2ae03db-c689-43cd-b0b4...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donna - But where did the Long Island Board of Realtors get that information? They are not referencing anything, like another document, link, etc.
I would submit all offers to my Seller, unless the seller gives me written instructions to not present other offers. If the seller does not sign a particular offer then there is no short sale contingency for that offer. The banks only work on the contingency. Therefore, there is nothing to submit to the bank, in my layperson opinion.
The lender does NOT own the home in a short sale. It is the home owner's right and obligation to accept and present to the lender the contract they choose. A short sale is an option avaiable to a home owner not a requirement. They don't present a contract for a short sale, their home forecloses. It's rather simple. It is not bank fraud if the home owner chooses the contract to submit. That doesn't even make sense.

I saw this earlier.  People are weighing in and everything I've read I agree with.  You CAN'T have more than one active contract at a time.  You could get sued by the first buyer if you get 1/2 way into the process and someone comes along and puts a higher offer in that you submit to the lender.  Look up tortious interference.  The SELLER could sue you for fiduciary breach on the first contract..what if the second contract gets submitted and the buyer walks?  The LIBOR post is COMPETLEY OFF BASE...

Here is what people are saying:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/2182348/realtor-association-in-new-...

Makes no sense.  The seller on a short sale is the current owner.  The bank does not own the property in a short sale transaction.  I think this type of thing comes from a continued misunderstanding of what a short sale transaction is by many.  I think many associations don't even understand who the seller is, which only makes this type of confusion worse.

I agree with all comments below and must add that lenders are not in the business of selling real estate but are constantly trying to control the industry but leveraging their ability to accept the amount of their "loss" in a short sale.  As long as we abide by federal and state real estate laws we are correct in how we proceed in working short sales.

 

Question everything a short sale lender does as they question everything we do!  We are professionals and we know our business!

 

Good luck everyone!

Ben, you are right....it all seems to come down to control on the lenders part. 

After all, a seller can't sign multiple contracts with various buyers anyway, nor can they send the offers up unsigned because the lender won't review them. 

Bottom line is, the seller chooses one, you work with them until they bail out or they can't meet what the lender will approve, and everyone else is a back-up.  Keeps it clean.

Good answer Ben...  This is exactly how I do with my short sales. I present all offers to the seller, discuss the terms and pricing of all offers then have the seller accept one This offer then get submitted to the lender...  All other offers are back up.. I find that the lenders can't even work on one offer in a timely manner giving them two?? OMG ... We will never be able to close any short sale...

 

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