Hi Folks. Richard Zaretsky wrote a post earlier this week titled:

SHORT SALE MARKET EVOLUTION - GMAC SOLUTION TO FALSE BUYERS If you haven't read it pop over to ActiveRain and do so. Here is the language GMAC wants if you have a short sale with them as the lender:

"2-3% earnest money must be agreeable to buyer. Contingencies must be removed 14 days after we issue approval letter and earnest money becomes non-refundable. If buyer walks, buyer and seller must agree in writing that earnest money will be wired to GMAC."

It's my opinion that GMAC is interfering with our listing agreements and interfering with a purchase agreement. This is, in my opinion, Tortious interference. They are NOT a party to either of these contracts and have no right dictating the terms.

GMAC's new "deposit language" is interfering with my contractual right, as per my listing agreement, to a percentage of the deposit when a buyer walks. Why? I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I spent time, effort and money during the pending status of the contract and have the right to be compensated if the deal kicks due to the buyer walking.

And what about the fully qualified buyer that doesn't have 2% to 3% to put up as a deposit? They could be purchasing the home using VA or USDA (100%) financing but may not be in a position to place 2% to 3% down as a deposit. Now due to this GMAC requirement they are blown out of the water. And of course these are exactly the buyers that are willing to pay a premium for a property.

Make no mistake about it this is just one more step towards banks dictating the real estate market.

Banks are now:

• Limiting how much I can charge for my services.

• Preventing me from being compensated for my time and effort.

• Dragging property values down even further by limitting the buyer pool.

You can be sure I will work the system to my advantage. BUT...dictating how I can charge for my services is a violation of anti trust laws. GMAC can certainly choose to not accept a short sale. That is their decision. How I get paid is my business and they are interfering with my contract.

GMAC is not losing money. They are the servicer. They get paid whether payments are made or not. This new verbiage is not to lesson their losses it is to increase their profits.

I wonder if they pass the claimed deposit off to the investor? I doubt it.

***I am NOT an Attorney. This post is my opinion only. What's yours?

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From their website:

GMAC Mortgage has experience creating customized solutions for banks, credit unions, brokerage houses and
other financial institutions. We service a full range of financial products and asset grades, including:

• First Mortgages
• ARM loans
• Closed-End Second Mortgages
• HELOC
• Unsecured Consumer Credit
• Alt-A
• Subprime
• “Scratch and Dent”
• Non-performing

Remaining in control of your relationship with your customers means maintaining brand awareness. As a leading lender and servicer, we not only provide the basic services listed above, we also offer a suite of ancillary services, including:

• REO Management
• Charge-off Recovery
• Master Servicing
• Bond Administration
• Special Operations